Marvolo's Ring
by PumpkinPie1926
Summary: Genevieve Bellamore, in her last year at Hogwarts has joined the Death Eaters to serve her master, Tom Riddle. What are her secrets that she is desperate to hide from the others? How is she going to prove herself as the first female Death Eater?
1. Prologue

Prologue

The first time Tom Marvolo Riddle has ever seen her was in his orphanage, The Wool's Orphanage, in middle of London through the window in his small, shadowy room.  
That day, September 24th, 1933, was a rainy day and gray clouds hung low above dark London's sky. Tom shuddered from the coldness as he stared through the window to see people running, searching for a place to rest until the rain stopped.  
Among those adults running in the rain in different direction, Tom found a little girl, about his age, running in the crowd.  
But it wasn't the rain she was trying to escape from, it seemed that someone-, or something was chasing after her as she continuously looked back to her shoulder. Tom Riddle stirred in his hard chair to have a better look at her; she wasn't just an ordinary girl, Tom thought. She wasn't those girls who played with their baby dolls, she was different somehow, although Tom couldn't explain how different. Until, he noticed one reason that made her look different from other children; she seemed to be alone. No mother or father of her's were to be seen near her. But there were other reasons that made her exceptional.  
She was running towards the rusted iron gate of Wool's Orphanage, then she creaked it open, to Tom's surprise. Then he heard loud bangings downstairs which were from the front door, that sounded like to be in a hurry. Next, he heard the old door creek open, and heard Martha's kind voice. "Hello dear...um, are you alone? How can I help you?"  
Tom heard the girl's squeaky. panicky, out-of-breath voice, "Hello. Please, can I come in?"  
"Sure, my dear," and he heard the door close again with a loud creek.  
Tom got up and went up to his room's door to peek outside. Just as he thought, many eyes were peeking through some of the doors that faced the second floor corridor, investigating the situation.  
Tom closed the door as he rolled his eyes and went to sit over by the window again. Most of children were happy to get together and play with eachother. But some children who weren't open-minded as others usually liked to spy on eachother to see what they were doing. The eyes that were peeking through the doors belonged to those children.  
Beneath the floor Tom heard , the head of orphanage, announce to the children who were playing in the living room, "Everyone, Dennis, ssssshhh... Ehem. Everyone, today I would like to introduce your new friend, Genevieve Bellamore. Let's give her a warm welcome, and, Rosaline, you'll be sharing the same room with her."

AN: This is my first time making my own fanfiction story, so I may not be a good author as Lady Moonglow who wrote the famous "Have You Ever", but I am thinking that by posting my stories, I could improve more. So please accept this story even if it's really weird and doesn't make sense! And my first chapter, the Prologue (I know it's really short, and I'm sorry about that). This chapter's intension is to raise readers a question of "who Genevieve Bellamore is", and I'm thinking to answer that question later on in my story.


	2. Chapter 2:The Spy

chapter 1: The Spy

~11 years later~  
That evening Tom Marvolo Riddle was striding the Hogwarts corridor heading for the Room of Requirement. His seventh year at the Hogwarts has just started and tonight was their second Death Eater meeting since the starting of the year. Death Eaters was a group Tom has created when he was in sixth grade, made for his purpose of controlling his surroundings using his followers who liked to use violence to operate the Master's order. So far there were only four people in this group including himself and Tom was planning to enlarge the group in close future.  
Tonight, he was informed that there has been a spy for the last few weeks during the Death Eaters meetings. Abraxas Malfoy, his most loyal Death Eater and his Death Eater friends, Lestrange and Avery were torturing the spy to let him know of the spy's information. By the time he arrives, they should have got all the information he wanted from the spy... no one can stand the Cruciatus curse for too long.

While Tom was heading to the Room of Requirement, Abraxas Malfoy was still struggling with the spy to gather informations. The spy was standing the Cruciatus curse for surprisingly a long time. And the fact that his Cruciatus curse wasn't working, and that his master may be angry with him made Malfoy irritated.  
" Come on, why don't you just spit it out!" Abraxas shouted at the spy, finally exploding with anger. The spy stared at him with an upward glance for few seconds, and smirked. There were no fears in the spy's eyes, rather, despise. Abraxas slapped her face as strong as he could. Red, painful mark of his hand remained across the spy's right cheek.

The spy was a female, to his surprise. She seemed to be about the same age as he was although he never recognized her face in Hogwarts before. She was caught transformed into Avery while the first Death Eater meeting. She hadn't spoken a word since she was caught. She was now kneeling down in front of him each of her arms held by chains that were hanging from the ceiling which appeared after Abraxas 'required' for it.  
Abraxas jumped when the entrance door to the Room of Requirement opened violently as his Master came in.  
"My Lord,..." Abraxas kneeled beside him as he came stroding into the center of the room.  
"Has she given it up yet?" Tom asked in his usual cold tone, giving a cold glance to the spy.  
"Well, master, I...I've tried my best, but the Cruciatus Curse doesn't seem to work on her." his voice trembled as he reported to his master.  
"Those won't be necessary, release her from the chain." Tom pointed his finger to the chain and ordered his followers. Avery ran up to her and released her from the chain with the key he was holding. Soon Avery and Lestrange went to grab the spy by her arm once again making her kneel in front of Riddle, and Abraxas saw the spy looking up in amusement as the chain disappeared into the darkness of the ceiling, now that it wasn't needed anymore.  
"You would have been a very useful spy to me if you belonged to me." Again, she smirked looking upward towards Riddle. Her playful smirk didn't consist despise like last time, but coldness.  
"My followers were asking you a question, and I would like you to answer it," Riddle started walking around the room, now talking in business tone.  
"I'm sorry, but as a spy, I must say I cannot accept that offer," but after a while, she continued, "however, you seem to be like a very talented wizard, with both leadership and determination. You may be the strongest leader I've met in my life, even stronger than my master," and she ended her sentence looking straight up into Riddle's eyes, her eyes sparkling mysteriously. And, that moment, Riddle saw the first female Death Eater in her eyes.

AN: So there's my second chapter. I hope you liked it. Maybe the torture scene was too violent? Comments and reviews are highly appreciated! Thank you! :D


	3. Chapter 3:Genevieve Bellamore

Chapter 2: Genevieve Bellamore

Abraxas watched the spy turn around the corridor and dissppear entirely with mortification on his face. Afterall, his master hasn't done anything harmful to her and even released her without saying a word to her.  
"My Lord, I, I don't understand. Why did you release her? She can bring back all the information she learned to whoever she serves for!" Abraxas asked. However all his master answered was "She'll come back to us soon Abraxas, and, no, she wouldn't tell anyone about what she discovered here," with a wide smirk on his face.

One week later  
Tom Riddle was alone in the Room of Requirement thinking to himself about the spy he met few days ago. How she would be useful if she belonged to us... What Tom needed now the most was a loyal and skilled follower. Malfoy was loyal to him, but he wasn't useful; he often couldn't complete his orders, or made a mistake. Malfoy was more talented in ways of treating girls and fashions, which will be no used to him.  
"Ahem."  
Tom spun around. It was a female, who was wearing a black robe with silver lines that decorated it. Her face was covered in hood.  
"May I help you?" Tom asked in his polite tone of voice he used against teachers to give them a good impression.  
"I was wondering if you could let me serve you as a Death Eater," the girl added in a small voice "I'm the spy you met me few days ago."  
Tom walked around her for a while, observing her,"It may not be a bad idea. But I can't stop myself from asking, what happened to your master?" Tom loved the feeling when somebody was begging him for something and he give them a slightest hope that he might give whatever they wanted to them. But stab them with a strong question that may change his mind depending on how they answered it. Their voice suddenly became panicky, desperate to get what they wanted.  
"I decided to leave his group, and serve for you as a double spy-" the girl answered. "Then how can I trust you that you wouldn't betray me?" Riddle interrupted, stopping to face her. He saw her mouth twitch, and after a second, "My loyalty lies in the strongest." Tom noticed that her voice and expression remained calm- not panicking from the sudden change in the flow of conversation that may change his mind- she may be a good resource as a spy.  
"Well then, I suppose you won't mind telling me who you are, or what you look like now that you serve me?"  
"I think you know me... my name is Genevieve Bellamore. A Slytherin in 7th year," with that she took off her hood and revealed her face.  
Tom Riddle widened his eyes as he looked at the girl in front of him. Tom knew her, for a very long time. He had known her since he was six and they lived in the same orphanage. Though he barely knew her, he only knew her name because he barely noticed her after they got into Hogwarts. She must have used a polyjuice potion or something as she looked very different from last time he saw her as a spy. 'Last time he saw her, she had a blond bushy hair with freckles,' Tom recalled from his memory. The girl in front of him was utter difference. She had a pale white face with straight jet black hair that was just above her shoulder and bangs covering her forehead. She had mysterious green sparkling eyes that changed its darkness depending on the angle. She also looked very attractive in black clothing. WHAT!? What am I thinking? Dismiss that! Tom snapped his finger mentally to wake himself up from trance, as he was staring down at her.  
"You knew me since when I was six, we go to the same orpha-" Genevieve's was stopped mid-sentenced as Tom's glare stabbed her.  
"Don't go telling that around, Bellamore," Tom whispered as he glared. Genevieve nodded in fear as his whisper had something she couldn't help imagining what he was capable of doing.  
Few minutes passed in an awkward silence.  
"I worked for Draco Pevensie, and I was his most loyal follower in the group," Genevieve continued hesitantly. Tom remembered Draco Pevensie, that bloke who didn't really have anything to be proud of except that he was pure-blood; Du Lac was a famous Pure-blooded family in the Wizarding world and were known for the Gryffindor family that went all the way back to Renaissance. Tom also knew about Pevensie's group, The Order of the Pigeon. He always thought it had a stupid name. Followers of the Pevensie, mainly Gryffindors including Pevensie himself liked to think themselves as police officers who kept peace in Hogwarts while they fought against Dark Magic groups, the Death Eaters. Those stupid Gryffindors who wanted to show off that they were brave was what Tom Riddle hated deary. The man can't be called 'great' just because of their bravery, the key was their cleverness and witness. Which were the words to describe him especially.  
"I decided to switch sides because I thought you were quite right, there are only people with power and people too weak to gain it in this world."  
Tom stared down at her as he imagined how resourceful this student may be.

A/N: I'm so ashamed to say this, but I'm sorry! I posted the wrong chapterThesis is chapter 3. Comments&reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4:The Death Eaters

Chapter 3: The Death Eaters  
Few days later  
Tom Riddle called for a Death Eater meeting again, planning to introduce his new, skilled Death Eater who will be working as a a double spy against The Order of Pigeons. The communication held in between Death Eaters and the Dark Lord were quite advanced; every member of the Death Eater had a tatoo of skull and a snake on their left arm. And when one of the Death Eaters placed their wand on its tatoo, it immediately sent a burning sensation on every other member's left arm. This meant that Death Eater meeting were to be held in the Room of Requirement that evening. And so the members of the Death Eaters arrived exactly at Nine o' Clock in that evening.  
When Abraxas Malfoy entered the room of Requirement, there stood his master at the center of the room, and next to him Genevieve Bellamore.  
Abraxas knew her from the Potions project they worked together, and wondered what she was doing here in the Death Eater meeting, Death Eater meeting was no place for her.  
"My Lord...?" Abraxas asked his master in a confused voice.  
"She'll be working for me as a Death Eater from now on. You will cooperate with her, wouldn't you?" Tom asked in a threatening voice.  
"But My Lord... why?" Abraxas and his friends, were still confused. Tom Riddle glanced towards Genevieve who was standing and staring right at Malfoy's grey eyes. "There are no need to question my decisions, Malfoy," Tom said coldly.  
"I must also tell you that she has been the one who got into our meeting as the spy," Tom added.  
" What!? But, but she-, she was that spy!" Abraxas shouted out unable to stop himself. "She doesn't deserve to be in this group, she was spying against us!"  
"Yes, Abraxas, she was. But she decided to switch her sides, and work for us instead of that Pevensie. You WILL acept, her wouldn't you?" the Dark Lord glared at him.  
For the first time, Abraxas was not sure if Tom Marvolo Riddle was right in his mind. Why on Merlin would he let her in? Is that Slytherin girl deceiving his master? And is actually still working for Pevensie and working a double spy against us? He didn't trust Genevieve Bellamore. As he gave a glance to her, he saw her eyes glint in the dark room of the Requirements.

A/N: I posted another one :) I'll post the next chapter soon cuz this chapter is too short. I hope you liked it!


	5. Chapter 5:The Dark Mark

Chapter 4: The Dark Mark  
Abraxas Malfoy hurried to the Room of Requirements, pink puffy dress in his arms. Each Death Eaters had their own robes or clothing to wear while their Death Eater activities, ordered by their master to increase the fear in their victim. And since he was good at designing clothes it was always his job to design the Death Eater member's clothings. The Dark Lord always wished him to make each clothing in black, silver or green, the slytherin colour. Last Death Eater metting, Dark Lord has asked him to make a clothing for Genevieve Bellamore, something that will make her look scary but also attractive.  
Abraxas disliked her. He, to put it in another word, didn't trust her; he saw how her eyes were glinting in the darkness when he was told that she was entering the Death Eaters, and she was now working as a double spy against the Pigeons. But she can be working for them while pretending to work for us, or she could betray us any time. He thought his Dark Lord was mistaken, and his friends shared his idea about the girl.  
When Abraxas entered the Room of Requirement, his friends were already there, eager to see the dress that will humiliate the girl.  
"So? What did you get for her?" Canopus Lestrange asked him in excitement.  
Abraxas showed them his pink dress. Both of his friends bursted into laughter.  
"I can't wait to see the expression when she sees the dress!" Alphard Avery gave an evil smile.  
Just then, the door bursted open and Genevieve Bellamore came in, wearing her black Hogwarts robe she wore the first time she asked Tom Riddle to let her join as a Death Eater. Abraxas ran to her, "Bellamore! This is your new robe. You'll wear this for every Death Eater activities," bowing then handing her the pink dress.  
Genevieve saw the other two suppressing their laughter. She took the pink dress, and went behind the changing wall that appeared at the corner of the room to change.  
Few minutes later, she came out. She looked like a pink puffy ball, and seemed to have difficulty in walking. She was wearing a white tight clothing and tights, and pink puffy circular ball over it. She also wore a pair of pink silky high heels and a pink mask that was decorated by peacock's feather all over it. She didn't look scary or mysterious at all, which were the two impressions Death Eaters were supposed to be giving off to the others. Death Eaters except the Dark Lord, all wore a silver or black mask that covered their face. Each had its original mask and one of the reason Death Eaters were feared was that they were wearing a mask, which made people unable to see the expressions on their face hidden by mask.  
She was supposed to burst out crying, or at least face downwards from humiliation. However, Genevieve didn't show any emotions and didn't seem to be ashamed. She walked across the room towards them as though there were nothing wrong with her.  
"Thank you for the beautiful dress," she tilted her head a little, bowing. And stared right into Abraxas's eyes, smile playing on her lips although her eyes showed no emotion and remained cold.  
Abraxas couldn't do anything but to give back the cold smile. His friends weren't laughing anymore.  
The first thing Dark Lord saw when he came in was a pink puffy ball that was bowing to him. As he got closer, however, he noticed that it was his new spy, Genevieve Bellamore.  
Tom went close to her and stared down at her with cold gaze as she stll bowed, then he gave a glance to Abraxas.  
Genevieve Bellamore tried to ignore the humiliation and the cold stare from her master.  
Today was her day to get her tatoo on her left arm, the day she was finally becoming a Death Eater.  
"Today is the day to give Bellamore the Death Eater tatoo on her arm," Tom didn't miss Bellamore's right arm stiffen and her lips twitch as he said. "You all know what to do."  
"Which arm, my Lord?" Genevieve asked in a panicky voice as everyone gathered around her, who was still kneeling by the Dark Lord. But instead of returning her an answer, Tom Riddle seized her left arm fiercefully and brought it up. All the Death Eaters pointed their wands at pale skin on her left arm, muttering an incantation under their breath, "Marcum tenebrarum, aut sculpti hic." Dark gas came out from each wand, and the room seemed to darken a little. Somehow, the darkness seemed stronger around her left arm. The dark gas were being sucked by her left arm, creating lines on her left arm slowly. "This must be one of the Dark Arts Riddle created" thought Genevieve as she listened to the Death Eaters repeating the incantation.  
The lines stopped drawing, and the Death Eaters stopped their muttering. When Genevieve looked at what the lines had drawn on her left arm, she noticed it was a skull and a snake. The skull was opening its mouth and snake was coming out of the mouth. The drawing of the snake was twirling and slithered as though it was alive. Her left arm was red from the pains while they created a tatoo on her arm, and her arm seemed to be black around the tatoo, not brown or dark skin, but black.  
As Tom Riddle let go of her arm, she brought her arm back, she breathed deeply trying to get over with the burning pain on her left arm. However, she smiled to herself in contentment as she again saw the Dark Mark. The Dark Mark was beautiful and the snake kept twirling itself around.  
"Thank you," Genevieve looked up to the Dark Lord in admiration.  
She was now trully a Death Eater, and she felt she belonged there.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading my stories!

"Marcum tenebrarum, aut sculpti hic"-this means 'Dark Mark is to be engraved here' in Latin.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments&reviews are highly appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 6:The Plan

Few weeks has passed since Genevieve got her Dark Mark on her left arm, and other members of the Death Eaters were starting to get friendly to her, except Abraxas Malfoy who still didn't trust her. But Genevieve was now certain that Death Eaters was the place she belonged,  
and she was fulfilling her job greatly as a double spy.  
For the first few weeks, the Order of the Pigeon were acting calmly, but it was just a few days ago in the meeting, when Draco Pevensie mentioned a new plan to destroy the Death Eater group. It was his plan to ambush for the Death Eaters and make a sudden attack.  
"Preferably at the next Death Eater meeting. We can wait until they come in. And when they step in, BOOM! We attack them. They'll be so surprised, they'll run back to their mummy!" Draco Pevensie gave an evil smirk thinking to himself what a genius he was. "Huh. Pevensie is always too optimistic for a leader." Genevieve thought as she despised Pevensie.

As soon as the meeting has finished she went out into the corridor where it was dark and where nobody was in the corridor. She pressed her wand against her left arm and felt the burning sensation she now got used to, then headed to the Room of Requirement.  
She didn't have to wait for too long; soon Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard came striding in and waited with her for their master at the long black table which appeared at the center of the room. Chairs were also Victorian and black, and Tom Riddle always sat at the very end of the table, Genevieve sitting on the right to him and left, Abraxas. Next to Abraxas was Canopus and next to Genevieve was Alphard.  
All four of the Death Eaters, wearing a mask, sat in silence until, the Dark Lord came in and every four of them stood up. As Tom Riddle sat, all others sat down as well.  
"So, who called in for the meeting?" Tom Riddle asked and Genevieve raised her hand and removed her mask with a flick of her wand, which disappeared with black gas.  
"My Lord, I just came back from the Pigeons meeting, and they are thinking to make a move on the next Death Eater meeting we are going to have. They are going to ambush us at here in the Room of Requirement. And as Draco Pevensie has said, we will run back to our mummy once we step inside this room," reported Genevieve in a serious tone, but gave a smile when others sneered at Draco's attitude.  
Tom Riddle sneered as well, and once again, was glad to have Bellamore on their side.  
"Then we shall be ready," said Tom with a smirk.  
"I was thinking, My Lord," Genevieve raised her hand again, "maybe we could use this chance to give an attack to them, instead?"  
Tom gave an even bigger smirk, "Yes. You will go and tell them the time, Bellamore. Howabout we say next Tuesday, eight o' clock. And when they come here to hide and attack us, me, Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery wil already be in here hiding, we will come here at seven thirty. And you, Bellamore, will stay with them and pretend to be on their side. And you won't be serving me as a double spy anymore, you have worked enough to satisfy me. You will reveal yourself as a Death Eater and stupify some of the pigeons before you point your wand at Draco Pevensie. Then we will surround the Pigeons."  
"Are we clear?" Tom asked giving a glare to each Death Eater's eyes. Everybody nodded.  
"Then you are all dismissed."  
Everybody pulled up their chair to leave, before Tom Riddle said "but Bellamore will stay." Canopus and Alphard had already left the room, but Abraxas narrowed his eyes as he stared at Genevieve in suspicion. "She can't be trusted," Abraxas muttered to himself before leaving the room.  
Tom Riddle closed the door before facing Genevieve.  
"There must be another reason why you left the Order of the Pigeons, Bellamore," Tom asked plainly.  
Tom saw her mouth twitch, but then finally answered, "I dislike Pevensie," Genevieve answered simply and didn't try to explain further. With a bow, she left the room.

A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for the favourite! I'm super duper duper HAPPY! . I'm sorry I couldn't post for a while (school works and stuff) :( I hope you'll enjoy the story! :D


	7. Chapter 7:The Duel

Chapter 6: The Duel  
Genevieve, Draco Pevensie and all of his followers were standing behind a statue, looking at the entrance to the Room of Requirements.  
"So you heard Lestrange telling Avery that next Death Eater meeting was Tuesday at eight o' clock?" asked Draco Pevensie again for the third time.  
"Yes, I'm sure," whispered Genevieve.  
"Okey, let's get in!" Draco called for the others in a strained voice and approached the door in tiptoe, and everybody followed. Genevieve was worried, even though we have been practicing duelling, there were too many pigeons; there were exactly thirteen of them excluding her against five of Death Eaters.  
Everyone saw Draco push open the door in building tension.  
The door creeked, and Draco made his first step into the room.  
The room was extremely dark and gloomy, with green lights decorating the wall which came from fire. Somebody closed the door.  
Genevieve made her first move.  
"Stupefy!", Genevieve cried out the spell five times as she pointed her wand to random person that came into her sight. She saw four people fall with loud thud, one of her spells missed, but she was able to bring four down.  
She smiled to herself and pointed her wand at Draco shouting "Expelliarms!" catching Draco's wand that flew out in the air. She pointed her wand to Draco's neck.  
She gave an evil smile as she saw Draco breathed panickly and looked down at her wand pointing at him, his face red from the fury.  
"How could you, Geney!?" somebody shouted, but before she was able to cast a spell to Genevieve, she was stupified and thrown backwards. Genevieve saw a glimpse of Abraxas Malfoy as he appeared from darkness, his mask covering his face with black and silver robe billowing behind him. It was a terrifying sight, and some of the pigeons ran out of the room. There were only half of them left.  
"Why, Geney?" Draco asked her seeing more Death Eaters appear out of darkness with mask covering their faces.  
"Stop, calling me, Geney!" billowed Genevieve into Draco's face, each word full of hatred.  
"Did you really think, that I would have stayed in this stupid group you have made? I have changed my sides few months ago."  
"Riddle showed me how I was wrong, and you were wrong! The world is not divided into good and bad people. It's only about people with power and people with no power. And I chose the winning side," she ended with a smirk, her eyes wide and glinting.  
"Expelliarms!" she heard from her back to see what was happening. It was the useless small girl from the pidgeons, giving all her courage to attack Lestrange.  
Canopus Lestrange saw a jet of red light coming towards him, but blocked easily with a flick of his wand and in return gave a stunning spell. The girl flew back and didn't stand up.  
All other Death Eater and the Dark Lord started their attack as well. They shot all kinds of curses they knew, stupify, expelliarms, even crucio.  
Once they started duelling, Genevieve felt her wrist being grabbed in a painful strength. It was Draco.  
"Remember, Bellamore, I know your secrets. You can't win me," his eyes glaring at her in revenge and he whispered to her ear in trembling voice, trying to restrain himself from shouting at her. For a moment, Genevieve was reminded of what Draco was capable of doing, and her fear seemed to come out on her expression, because Draco sneered. Draco gave an evil high-pitched laughter Genevieve has never heard. She felt Draco's and her wand being wrenched away from her. She looked up in terror, and saw Draco with his wand pointing at her. Draco brought his wand up, opened his mouth and was ready to say his spell. But he was suddenly flawn backwards.  
Tom was enjoying himself in self satisfaction. Nobody was strong enough to match his powers and was defeated in every swish of a wand he made. He looked around, and saw that some of the pigeons that ran away had come back with more of their members. His followers had all taken off their masks. Abraxas Malfoy was laughing in a low voice while he casted a Cruciatus Curse to a small girl and she screamed. Canopus Lestrange was smirking the whole time as he constantly gave a stunning spell to three pigeons, not giving them any chance to cast a spell. He was looking upward to the opponent, and Tom heard him sneer every time the spell had hit somebody and that person had screamed. Alphard Avery was fighting against two people, his eyes wide open in excitement and his wide grin covering his face, as he constantly sent a Cruciatus Curse to two people, both of them screaming for few seconds as the spell had hit them. Tom knew his followers were well trained, all of them barely missed a spell, always hit them right at the target. Malfoy and Lestrange was also able to use non-verbal spell like himself.  
He heard an evil high-pitched laughter and turned to see Abraxas enjoying the scream of a girl. But it wasn't Malfoy.  
It was his enemy, Draco Pevensie holding two wands. And beside him, Genevieve Bellamore was crouching, trembling as she brought her hand over her mouth.  
Her hand was red with her own blood.  
Tom Riddle felt a rage of anger he never felt and ran towards them, do I have to do everything myself? He wanted to shout at Bellamore to stand up and fight, not just sit there until tge end like a coward! He just gained Bellamore on his side few weeks ago, and he only had a little chance to use her. He was not going to lose her now, not now, when she could be so useful to him. Tom Riddle shouted "Expelliarms!" as he saw Pevensie bring his wand up trying to cast a spell to Genevieve. His eyes wide open as though he was mad.  
Tom Riddle smirked in satisfaction as Pevensie flew backward, and catched two wands in his hand.  
As Pevensie and Genevieve stood up, Tom Riddle moved himself in between them and said growled, "I'm your match now."  
Draco Pevensie spat, and said in a mocking voice "Too weak to duel, huh, Geney?"  
"We're both the leader of the group, we are supposed to duel each other," Tom Riddle said cooly narrowing his eyes and threw Pevensie his wand.  
This duel, was a formal duel. They both bowed, turned around to walk away. Everyone opened their way to let their masters duel. Tom Riddle and Draco Pevensie turned around to face each other, and readied their wand. Tom's expression, calm and not showing his emotions as usual. Draco looking wild and mad, licked around his lips several times.  
"Expelliarms!" Draco shouted. But Tom said nothing, using non-verbal spells to cast the curse. The red jet exploded from Tom Riddle's wand, and green jet from Draco Pevensie's. The two jets met each other in the middle, and exploded. Now connecting Tom's wand to Draco's.  
The red jet light seemed to weaken a little when Draco gave another high-pitched laughter and said, "Haha! We have to use violence in order to bring peace, Riddle!" and Genevieve saw the green jet shortening the red jet.  
Then Genevieve saw Riddle's face tighten, and his eyes glowed red. His red jet of light grew strong. His red jet of light grew stronger and stronger while the green jet grew weaker.  
Until finally, BANG! the red jet of light reached Draco, and he flew backwards, mortification covering his face. He landed on a floow with a loud THUD, and didn't move. Genevieve saw the red glow in Tom Riddle's eyes, but was gone a second later and he suppressed a smile of victory. He wasn't dead of course, he was not stupid to notice that murdure in the school will attract too much attentions.  
The smile of a victory was gone within a few seconds, and Tom turned around to look at her. His face was full of anger. He glared into her eyes for such a long time Genevieve terribly felt uneasy.  
Everyone turned to look at Draco Pevensie, Lestrange gave a scream of joy and Avery gave a crazy laughter that echoed thorough the room. Mortification played on every member of the pidgeons, and some of their mouth and wand hand was twitching. All the members of pidgeons started to leave room, carrying the injured ones. One of them casted a spell towards Genevieve, but Tom Riddle destroyed the spell with a flick of his wand once he stepped in front of her.  
Soon everybody was gone, but Death Eaters. Every one had a smile of a victory playing on their faces, Avery was still laughing lunatically.  
Genevieve saw a smirk on Abraxas Malfoy's face, but also a person standing up behind him.  
Nobody noticed.  
The person behind Malfoy raised his wand, only its eyes glowing in revenge.  
Without thinking, Genevieve ran to Abraxas and pushed him over.  
She felt a spell hit her body. The last thing she saw was a red flash coming straight at her. But no pain came, she only felt the bang behind her back as she fell backwards.  
She opened her eyes, and saw that one of the Order of the Pigeons was lying in front of her.

What was going on?

A/N: Hello! Sorry it took long to post the new chapter :( Over 100 views! Thank you very much! (yay~ . ) In this chapter, we get a glimpse on Genevieve's character and what she can do. This is very important because this is related to her past. I hope you liked this chapter, I enjoyed writing this very much because I feel like I was able to write the scary side of the Death Eaters, not only Tom Riddle but also Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery. I hope you'll come to like this character over time :) I'll post the next chapter soon :)


	8. Chapter 8: The Mystery Girl

Chapter 7: The Mystery Girl  
Genevieve looked down at her body, and saw her body tinkling with dim green light in the room. Her entire body was transparent and shiny like a huge diamond.  
Nobody talked for few minutes . Genevieve was still frozen, sitting on the floor just like when she fell backwards. The seconds seemed to pass like few minutes while others' eyes went over her body.  
The first one to act was Lestrange, who went over to the still body of the boy Pidgeon. Genevieve saw with worried look as he crouched over his body and placed his pale finger on the Gryffindor boy's neck and muttered, "Stunned." Then Lestrange faced the Dark Lord, "My Lord, he's only stunned. He's not dead." With his words Riddle nodded curtly, but then again, his attention was drawn back to her and Lestrange's stare wandered back to her as well.  
Genevieve panicked as she came to notice that they were probably going to interrogate her from now. Only one option seemed to be left for her: run.  
She stood up slowly, but then dashed through out the Room of Requirement's door to the corridor which took everybody by surprise.  
She ran around the maze of Hogwarts corridors. She had no idea where she was heading. She needed to hide herself where she could be alone, and she needed to find that place quickly. There should be a girl's bathroom by the stairs and I can hide there. Yes, that seemed like a decent plan.  
Genevieve ran the rest of the corridor and dived into the girl's bathroom. She sighed in relief as she saw nobody in the room, but she didn't want any visitors so she waved her wand at the door with a flick and instantly heard the click of the lock closing.  
She then ran to the mirrors which were placed in the middle of the room in a circular row. She stared at her tinkling body in the mirror. No wonder she didn't get hit by the stunning spell the boy had sent. The spell must have deflected her skin because she was literally made of diamonds, but this was quite new for her; she never knew things like this could happen. 'This form may come in handy during duels,' Genevieve smirked.  
However, all of the Death Eaters seeing what she was capable of doing was unacceptable. What had happened to her? She never lost control of herself. After all those years of training, she had learned to control her body; her emotions, her expressions and her body form. She had learned when she was just eight that it was best to pretend that she was just a normal person. Life was so much easier that way. Since then, she had been hiding herself from those suspicious eyes. But why this time? Genevieve finally concluded that it was her natural reflex that got herself into changing her looks as she glared at her diamond-made body in the mirror. Bellamore, you simple-headed girl! It was better to get stunned rather than being seen like that by others!  
Genevieve took a few deep breath to calm herself down. 'Always under control, Genevieve... Calm down, there's nothing you can do about it now.' As she started to calm down, she saw a blue wave starting from her head eventually spreading over her diamond skin until it reached her legs, and she saw her usual pale white skin under the blue waves. Her white skin appeared from her head slowly to her legs and blue waves disappeared under her black high socks.  
Genevieve inhaled deeply again as her eyes wandered over her body. There was the usual Genevieve Bellamore again. Her disguise form. Just a normal Slytherin seventh year girl.  
She didn't exactly feel like going back to the Room of Requirements to face her colleagues again, so she decided to head back to her dorm. All of the Death Eaters seeing her like that was not certainly good, at least the Pidgeon was stunned so he probably wouldn't remember what he had seen of her a fraction of a second before he was stunned. But FOUR of the Slytherin boys seeing her like that was not good. In addition, she wouldn't exactly call them her loyal friends and soon the whole school will know about her body made of diamonds as well as teachers, including Dumbledore. And the next thing she knows, Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic and the British Prime Minister will be running around the Hogwarts corridors to catch her. 'I'll just go to hiding if rumour spreads, I guess,' Genevieve thought as she suppressed the boiling hate against the three mens which one was a muggle.  
Even if the Slytherin boys didn't tell anybody, she will be showered with questions which she wasn't really in a favour of telling. 'Then I guess I will have to avoid them as much as I could...' her thoughts were disturbed as she was now standing in frint of the entrance to the Slytgerin common room.  
"Slither" Genevieve muttered the password and stepped into the Slytherin common room and ran straight to her dorm.

Tom Riddle rubbed his temple. He was standing in middle of the Room of Requirement still thinking about what he had just seen half an hour ago in this same room after he had sent his followers to their dorm. He hadn't expected anything like this to happen tonight. Who was Genevieve Bellamore? Or, what was she? Metamorphmagus? Tom have read of these stories, rare people who can change their appearance, but there were nothing written about chaging the elements you were made of in that book of Magical Traits and Skills. It only mentioned of changing its hair and skin colours or something like that. Tom knew somewhere in his mind that this whole thing was related to her past, but just wasn't quite sure. He closed his eyes and he could still see the girl running in the rain towards his orphanage, running away from someone, or something. He was only seven back then. Tom easily guessed that Draco Pevensie also knew about the secrets of her past, and he was curious to know all about her. So much of her was a mystery. He would call her... yes, a Mystery Girl. There weren't many people Tom didn't know much about in this school; one because they didn't hold much of a secret and two, because he was usually able to guess what was going on by observing them. And when Tom couldn't come up with any conclusions from observing, he would ask the girls. Girls were like gossipping machine and none of the girls were able to resist his charmingness, and they would all end up blabbing about it to him. But this time, the case was different. Most part of Genevieve's life were full of secrets and her secrets seemed to be more complicated than the others, in addition, not many people seemed to know about her either. Except Draco Pevensie. But he wasn't sure if his charm will work on Pevensie and tell him everything he knew about Bellamore. After all, Pevensie hated him. He knew Tom's charmingness was only a disguise and there was something else behind his gorgeous kind smile towards other students and teachers. This was going to be a difficult task; to get as much information as possible on the Mystery Girl, Genevieve Bellamore.

A/N: Hello :) What did you think about this chapter? I know... it's getting a bit like X men-ish. But I hope you still liked it :D This chapter shows what Genevieve can really do, and Tom Riddle is eager to find about it. I'll post the next one asap! Reviews are highly appreciated .


	9. Chapter 9: Memories and Confusion

Chapter 8: Memories and Confusion

_She was running through the narrow streets in middle of London. It was raining quietly and there were no one to witness the wickedness and fear she was facing right this moment. She had to get away. She just had to. Those people were mad. She must run for her freedom, herself, for her life. She risked a glance backwards and saw three men running after her, all of their eyes glinting like three wolf who just caught a sight of weak, helpless rabbit. Genevieve shuddered and faced forward again to keep on running. The streets were deserted. Mansions made of bricks were lined neatly by the road and because of the rain, every colour seemed to be drained out of the street and the only colour Genevieve saw was gray. There was a car parked, but there were no place to hide. There was a huge church at the end of the street. Dead end. She must turn right or left to get into another alley, but she had no chance of running away from them as she was new around here where streets and alleys crossed each other like a maze. She will soon get lost._  
_ She decided to take right and dived into the alley. But she was caught by a shock when she saw a gigantic man standing right in front of her, and she was able to stop herself just before she was about to bump into him._  
_ Genevieve looked up, and there he was. Auburn hair with a long beard. A pair of eyes staring down at her over the half-moon spectacles. His face was blank, Genevieve knew that there were many emotions swirling around those eyes, but she couldn't make it out what those emotions were._

Genevieve shot open her eyes, and she felt a cold sweat trickle down her side of her face. She sat on her bed and looked around to find her dorm mates still sleeping. It was still very dark and she could still see some stars outside the window. She rubbed her eyes, and gave a glance towards her clock on the bed side table - 4:13 am. She sighed and looked down at her green cover sheets and sighed. She felt like she was freezing half out of her warm blankets and exposed to the cold air of winter dungeons, but she didn't care, instead she was deep in thoughts about what she had just dreamt. She hadn't had nightmares in years. Why was she having it now? After all those years? Genevieve shivered. Because of the nightmare, she felt like her Monday was already ruined before it even started. All those memories came rushing back to her. A wand being pointed at her. A blue flash of light. Genevieve finally decided that reason behind this dream was incident that occurred last night in the Room of Requirements. And also her fear that rumour about her may have already started spreading throughout the school. If the rumour reached teachers, she will probably be expelled, or worse, dragged away and maybe killed in the end. Genevieve breathed in deeply to gain her self-control and fight against her fear. Well, she couldn't do anything about the rumour now. She will just have to wait until morning to think about what to do.

* * *

Abraxas joined his friends, Canopus Lestrange and Alphard Avery, on his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Abraxas saw gleefully as first and second year Slytherins opened their way fearfully for them to walk past. But in the corner of his eyes, he spotted his fellow Genevieve Bellamore sitting at the very end of the Slytherin table, reading the morning Daily Prophet quietly away from the others. Abraxas strode over to her seat and the other two followed after him.  
However, he came to a halt because there was a small first year boy who didn't notice their presence and had kept on reading his book about unicorns, not opening seats for them. Abraxas sent him a glare that was threatening to kill him. Soon the boy noticed his attention, and looked up. Abraxas just enjoyed the fear that lit up in his eyes and his face turned from amusement into a panic. Then he ran down the hall without turning back to look at them.  
Abraxas sat triumphantly across Bellamore and Canopus sat beside him, and Alphard next to Bellamore. To his surprise, Bellamore didn't seem to notice them as she didn't raise her head so Abraxas decided to serve himself a breakfast as usual and poured himself some tea.  
The three kept on eating silently, eyeing Bellamore suspiciously, and Bellamore kept on scanning her prophet. After some time, Abraxas came to doubt that Bellamore didn't notice them, but was trying her best effort to ignore them completely. How rude. Abraxas thought irritatedly. Last might, Alphard, Canopus and himself talked about Bellamore and her actions up to late at night in the Room of Requirements until the Dark Lord had banned them from talking about it. They couldn't come up with any reasons how Bellamore had changed herself into a big chunk of tinkly stuff, and Abraxas still wanted to know. It also surprised him that yesterday Bellamore had risked herself to save him.  
All the while Abraxas was in his deep thoughts, he had never noticed that he was staring at Bellamore, expressionless. Which made Genevieve extremely uncomfortable. Genevieve yawned tiredly and rubbed her eyes, she couldn't sleep very well last night. Malfoy was still staring at her, so she gave up and let her gaze wander over to Abraxas Malfoy. Malfoy seemed to be pulled out of trans as her eyes met his, suddenly his pure sapphire eyes cleared and came into focus.  
"Would you like anything?" Genevieve asked coldly, forming her lips into a thin line.  
"Oh no. Don't mind about us. You don't mind us sitting here, do you?" Abraxas asked very politely, but somehow still threatening.  
Genevieve narrowed her eyes and stared at them in piercing gaze which clearly showed that she was in no happy mood to stay with them.  
"Are you here to ask me something?" Genevieve sighed and let her gaze drop to her untouched plate.  
"We are interested. But we aren't gonna ask if you don't want us to," Canopus Lestrange answered simply while he stuffed his mouth with bacon and eggs. And then winked to group of Slytherin girls near them after he finished, which erupted into screams of joy and excitement.  
"But if you want to tell us, we are always here to listen for you." This time it was Alphard Avery who was sitting right beside her, smiling genuinely at her.  
Genevieve Bellamore wasn't expecting this.  
One, were these boys always like this? Whenever she met them during the Death Eaters meeting, or when they were duelling, they seemed to be very mature and serious, and in a way, mad. But now there they were, Abraxas Malfoy being sarcastic, Canopus Lestrange hitting on girls and Alphard Avery actually being very polite.  
Two, she expected them to overwhelm her with millions of questions. Surely what happened yesterday was something entirely new to them, and she was supposed to tell them about this before she became one of the Death Eaters. But they were going to let her slip away, just like this? Should she be suspicious that this will come back to her eventually and they will somehow try to pull out information out of her?  
Her face must have been looking confused, as Lestrange shrugged and explained, "Actually, our dear Tom Riddle had banned us from talking about it."  
"Oh yeah! Abraxas? I didn't get the last question for potion homework. In what circumstances are ammortentia needed?" Avery suddenly asked and started to take out his quill and a roll of parchment out of his bag.  
"You have to do it by yourself, Alphard. That's the point of doing a homework. And potions are the first double this morning, why are you doing it now?" Malfoy sighed.  
"Oh come oooooon! Pleeeease? Just this one question! Pretty please with cherry pie on it?"  
"I wrote ammortentia is never needed in any circumstances because you don't need a potion to attract girls," Lestrange smirked, "And Al, it's supposed to be pretty please with cherry on top. Not cherry pie. Where did that word 'pie' come from?" Lestrange accused him, suddenly frowning.  
"I don't care whether it's cherry pie or not. I like cherry pie, so I can say whatever I want to say about cherry pie."  
Malfoy sighed and started explaining the purpose of using ammortentia.  
Genevieve stared at them in shock. What was this sudden change of topic? They seemed like they didn't want to talk about yesterday anymore, which was a great news for her. In fact, looking around Genevieve noticed nobody seemed to be gossiping about her. At least none of the teachers or students gave a curious glance at her. So does that mean they really didn't tell anybody? Genevieve had an impression that they all hated her.  
Genevieve was brought out of her deep thoughts as Malfoy glanced at his watch and muttered, "It's almost time for potions. We better get going." Genevieve packed her bag and saw all of them stand up from the chair.  
"Can I escort you to the class, my lady?" Genevieve widened her eyes in surprise as she saw Lestrange, offering his hand at her smiling. But she still could see some teasing sparkle in his honey coloured eyes.  
Genevieve couldn't do anything but stare at his hand for a while. Something she hadn't expected this morning...again. Was this some kind of a joke?  
"You don't like me?" Genevieve heard a sad voice and looked up to find Lestrange making a sad smile. But still, she saw the playful sparkle in his eyes. Yup, this was a joke.  
Confused, and unable to think of a way out of this, Genevieve slowly took his hand and she halted up from her seat instantly. She saw Avery giggling, "You look so funny when you look confused! It's like this, look..." and Avery imitated her face, then fell in laughter again.  
Is she being teased by ones who disliked her just yesterday? What was this sudden change? Genevieve was still confused, and was dragged to the potions classroom in the dungeons by her fellow Death Eaters.

A/N: Another new chapter! I hope you are enjoying my story :) It sounds like Genevieve faced something reaaaally terrifying when she was still small, and looks like she had met a 'mysterious guy'. Is he a good guy, or a bad guy? You'll find out in the later chapter! There is a sudden change in the relationship between Genevieve and the three Slytherin boys. Probably because they saw Genevieve risk her life to save Abraxas the night before. And she also finds out that Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard all has a different side of good and evil. And we can see from duel that their evil side sometimes comes out especially during Death Eater missions, they enjoy hurting other people. But there are some parts of them that is childish, kind and pure and this good side of them comes out especially when they are with each other. It might take a while for me to post a next chapter because I'll have to plan what's coming next.

Also, thank you **Saphem **for favoriting my story! It really helps me to keep writing the story :D


	10. Chapter 10: Aging Process and Tea Party

Chapter 9: Aging process and Tea party  
The rest of the day went perfectly normal for Genevieve, although the day was nothing like she had experienced. Abraxas Malfoy, Canopus Lestrange and Alphard Avery stayed with her for the entire day. They all went to classes together, sat together during classes, and went to the Great Hall together. Genevieve found all of this quite annoying and disturbing and tried her best to ignore the trios, although the three Slytherins didn't seem to mind her neglect.  
"You know, Slug's becoming balder and balder by the day. And how many wrinkles does he has? 10? Oops, sorry. My miscounting, I need to add another zero at the end of that digit," Canopus whispered during the first double period of potions, staring dreamily at Slughorn's shining head while the other students busily took notes from the blackboard on how to brew a veritaserum. Genevieve heard Alphard Avery chuckle at this comment made by Lestrange, unable to suppress his laughter. On the other hand, Abraxas Malfoy sighed while he continued on taking his notes, "Lestrange, be quiet before we all get a detention for insulting a teacher," he muttered under his notes seriously.  
"Be quiet before we all get a detention," Abraxas heard Lestrange mocking his voice, "Yeah right. Slug gives detention to everyone. And besides, we are Slytherins. What else could be more Slytherin-ish than teasing somebody?" Lestrange didn't dare to stop himself from sarcasm seeping in to his voice.  
Abraxas sighed, and had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He couldn't take these stupidness. Potions was his favourite subject and now they were all ruining it for him.  
Just then, Slughorn turned around and darted his eyes through the class, looking utterly uncomfortable as he laid his hand on his bald head, intending to cover it. After a while, he turned his back to the class and started writing the instructions again on the board.  
Malfoy glared darkly at Lestrange sitting next to him. Lestrange stuck out his tongue teasingly at him. His anger infuriated.  
Genevieve found all of this very funny, and continued watching their row that continued for the rest of the class until Slughorn finally announced the end of the class.  
Genevieve was about to leave the class with her fellow Death Eaters when she heard, " , could I have a few words with you?"  
She turned around to face Slughorn, who looked very serious. Now she was in trouble for insulting the teacher when Lestrange should have been! Jeez, thanks a lot, Lestrange.  
In corner of her eyes she saw Malfoy glaring at Lestrange yet again and mutter, "Now look what you've done! You got her into trouble!"  
Lestrange gave a glance towards Genevieve in a guilty way, "Then, I guess we'll wait for you outside."  
Genevieve nodded and faced her Potions Master, who still looked very severe and somehow sad, who now sat on his withered black, but still elegant chair behind the desk.  
"I guess nobody can resist the aging process, eh? I thought I was taking care of my hair quite well," Slughorn scratched his head.  
"Well, never mind bout that!" Slughorn boomed, suddenly looking delighted again. " , I have this club, it's called the Slug Club. And sometimes we all meet up and have some cup of tea," Slughorn paused and stared down at Genevieve expectantly. But seeing that Genevieve was not replying, he continued, "I hear many rumours about you, of course, all of them are good rumours. I heard from all the teachers that your grades are excellent, and many students admitted that your attractiveness is overwhelming."  
Genevieve felt her cheeks burning up and she had to try hard not to change her expression into a shy smile.  
"I was thinking it would be great if you could join us at the next tea on friday afternoon. All of your friends are coming too, just to let you know," Slughorn concluded.  
"My friends?" Genevieve frowned, confused.  
"Yes, yes! , and ! I noticed this morning in the Great Hall that you've made some new friends," Slughorn's eyes twinkled in happiness, but after awhile, his twinkle faded away in depth of his pale eyes when no answer came from Genevieve.  
"Don't you consider them as your friends, ?"  
Genevieve turned her eyes on the floor. That was the exact question she needed to ask herself. And to be truthful, she didn't have any answer. The three Slytherins are treating her nicely like a friend now, but can she really trust them? For merlin's sake, Bellamore! They hated you only yesterday! How can you be ever so sure that they will not start hating her again?  
"So, are you coming to the tea? We will have a wonderful time together! And to convince you, dear is coming as well. Surely you must be another fancier of ? All the girls in Hogwarts will do anything to be in the same room with him!" and Slughorn broke down into a laughter.  
Genevieve couldn't do anything but to stare at him in astonishment. He thought SHE had a crush on Tom Riddle? THAT. IS. WEIRD. Sure, he was quite handsome, but Genevieve saw nothing in him except 'favourite of the teacher' and 'her boss/ the Dark Lord'. What made him think that she fancied Tom Riddle? Because she is a girl?  
"Umm, professor, I actually don't have any particular interests in ," Genevieve said hesitantly.  
Slughorn seemed to be in a mild shock.  
"And I'll be coming to the tea on friday afternoon," Genevieve said quickly, trying to avoid any further discussion whether she likes Tom Riddle or not.  
Her attempt was a success. Slughorn's face turned into delight and his eyes twinkled in an excitement. "Excellent! Then I shall be waiting for you all in my office at eight o' clock!" Slughorn exclaimed and turned his attention to stack of parchments on his desk ready to be marked.  
Genevieve took this as a permission to be excused, and so quickly left the potions classroom. It was very awkward staying with him in that classroom. She found herself facing the Slytherin trios, as she opened the door and stepped into the dark corridor.  
"So, what was that old Slug talking about?" Lestrange asked worriedly.  
Genevieve felt like scaring Lestrange, and so decided to tease him. After all, she was scared at first that she was going to get a detention for what he has done. "Nothing... First, we talked about how nobody can resist the aging process, and then I was asked to come to his office at Friday, eight o' clock."  
"I knew it, I knew it for god forsaken merlin's beard! What did I tell you, Canopus! Look what you've done!" Abraxas Malfoy billowed angrily.  
"I think you should apologize, Canopus," this time Alphard Avery.  
Genevieve suppressed her smirk at this chaos and how Canopus Lestrange seemed uncomfortable and guilty.  
"I'm sorry, Genevieve," Canopus finally said in a small voice, trying his best to avoid her eyes.  
Genevieve couldn't hold it anymore, and smirked. Lestrange seemed to notice the change in her behaviour, because he exclaimed, "Oi! Is it only me, or does Genevieve looks like she enjoys seeing me in a situation like this. Were you joking about this whole detention thing, Geneveieve?"  
Instead of answering his question, she smirked and turned around on her heels, and started heading for her third class. She had already used up most of her morning brake.  
"Ha! I told you, I knew she was just kidding!" she heard Lestrange exclaim triumphantly behind her.  
"Then what did he tell you?" Malfoy catched up next to her.  
Genevieve hesitated for a while, but then said, "He invited me to this club and I'm going to attend the tea on friday." Genevieve decided to keep the subject of Tom Riddle low. She had enough of 'Dark Lord Talk' for today.  
"Oh~ the Slug Club," Avery nodded knowingly, "we're in that club too."  
"It's quite boring, really, although the tea is good. We only talk about our families and stuff," Lestrange sighed, "Yeah, it's reeeeeeeealy interesting to talk about our families."  
"Lestrange and Avery are really good at quidditch, so they got invited, and Lestrange's family is exceptionally famous for being famous and rich. And, of course, I got invited because I get Os in all the classes," Malfoy chuckled, and Lestrange and Avery glanced at each other annoyingly, "What did you get invited for?"  
"He said because of my grades and 'attractiveness'."  
Lestrange whistled and Genevieve glared at him.  
"Yeah, I see what he means by that. You're quite popular among us Slytherin boys, you know."  
Genevieve rolled her eyes and decided to just ignore Malfoy's comments. Today just wasn't her day.

A/N: Thank you for more than 400 views! And thank you **xXallegedangelXx** for following and favouriting my story! I appreciate them a lot! :D From now on, I'll try to keep tha pace of one chapter a week ;) In this chapter nothing really happened, just that Genevieve got invited to the Slug Club. In the next chapter, 'something' will happen, and I'll try to post it as soon as possible!


	11. Chapter 11:Crimson Eyes

Chapter 10: Crimson eyes  
"Woohooo!" Genevieve saw in the corner of her eyes Canopus jumping into the Slytherin commonroom that afternoon at night. Malfoy, Avery and Genevieve were sitting by the green fire that crackled in a fireplace, in a comfy black armchair, finishing their last transfiguration homework.  
"Oh, for merlin's shiny bald head, Canopus! Where have you been?" Avery exclaimed, "I needed to ask you questions on animagus, remember the essay?"  
"I finished that in 10 minutes, Avery! What's taking you so long? Anyway, I'll answer those questions later. You have no idea what I just did in the corridor!" Lestrange chuckled evilly.  
"What did you do?" Avery asked excitedly.  
"I just cursed those stupid first years from Gryffindor!"  
"You have no idea how they looked scared! And their scream echoed through the corridor!" Lestrange whispered, grinning.  
"Wow! What spell did you use?" Avery asked leaning into the table.  
"I tested the new spell Riddle taught me. It's called the Karayan Amaia, and the shadow of the victims attack themselves! It's awesome, right?" Lestrange's eyes sparkled in an excitement.  
"That's enough, Lestrange," Malfoy's cold voice echoed in the deserted commonroom, and Lestrange raised his head to meet Malfoy's cold glare, finally quieting down.  
"Haven't I told you before that our Dark Lord wouldn't be happy with us when we curse somebody without his permission?" Malfoy returned his eyes on rolls of parchment in front of him.  
"Don't worry, Ab. I didn't forget to put on a silencing spell, and I rearranged their memories after I finished with the curse," Lestrange sighed.  
"That's good. Last time you forgot, I still remember. It was a huge mess," Malfoy sighed and returned his concentration on writing the answers on his essay.  
Genevieve couldn't help her curiosity, so asked, "What happened?"  
"Well, Riddle kinda got really mad at us," Malfoy answered.  
"Yeah, it was really scary. Especially at Canopus," Avery shivered.  
"He, sort of, cursed me badly," Canopus shrugged and rolled up his sleeves on his right arm. Underneath his white buttoned shirt, an ugly, long scar appeared that started from upper arm all the way to his wrist.  
"But it doesn't really hurt anymore," Lestrange smiled sadly at Genevieve and shrugged, "Now enough with this dull topic about my scar. What's your question?"  
Malfoy and Avery turned around in their seat to ask Lestrange questions, but Genevieve couldn't help but stop thinking about the scar. Somewhere in her head, she guessed that Tom Riddle was evil in a way, but she was never given a proof for it. I mean, he had saved her once when duel broke out between the Death Eaters and the Pidgeons? She felt shiver running down her spine as the long, pale scar of Lestrange whirled around in back of her head. But at the same time, she felt something completely different from fear. It was anger. But why on earth would she feel angry at the Dark Lord? Is it because he had hurt Lestrange? But who cares? He had done something wrong. He deserved to be punished like that. But somewhere in her head, a voice was screaming at herself, the word 'no'.  
Now she knew. 'Tom Riddle was an evil Dark Lord who wouldn't hesitate to curse his own followers' she thought as hot fury boiled inside of her.

Tom Riddle was striding through the corridors heading for the Slytherins commonroom. He hadn't gone there in ages, not anymore that he got assigned to Head Boy this year. And he was given a privilege of living on his own, away from his followers, away from the other arrogant bastards of Slytherins.  
Since yesterday, he had been thinking about one of his followers, Genevieve Bellamore. What was she hiding from everyone? From teachers, from him? Why does she has to keep it a secret? He had thought of various methods he could use to gain any infomation on Genevieve Bellamore. He was surprised with himself that he barely knew anything about Genevieve Bellamore even for all those years he had been living with her in the same orphanage. Only that he knew she was different from all the muggles, and perhaps from wizards as well. He knew there was something different about her from all the wizards and witches he had met in his life, although he couldn't quite pinpoint what actually was different about her. He just knew it.  
Eventually he came to a conclusion that the easiest way was to ask the others. Girls would do, they are the worst gossiping creatures ever created by god. There were nothing they didn't know about in this entire school, only that they were at 2nd place and he was at the 1st place for knowing what was happening in the Hogwarts Grounds. There were no one beside him. It is just that there was a slightest chance that Bellamore will talk to them because they were GIRLS.  
In addition, girls were the easiest creature to convince and lure. He knew nobody, especially female were able to resist his charmingness. All he had to do was just stare down at them, and smile. And the girls will start giving out anything he wanted without questioning him. 'It will be just a piece of pie to ask them about Bellamore', Tom Riddle smirked to himself.  
"Sllither," Tom whispered to the blank wall in front of him, and with a loud thundering noise, the wall split itself into two to reveal the Slytherin commonroom.  
He was met by a surprise when Genevieve Bellamore herself tuned herself out, about to leave the commonroom.  
She seemed like she was also surprised by the sudden appearance of him, because she gasped and her eyes widened in shock. But as soon as she recognized him, she moved to the side and lowered her head, in those amethyst purple eyes he saw fear, and he smirked to himself. But as he stepped into the commonroom, he saw something else. Something he had never seen in the eyes of his followers.  
It was anger. It was burning red, boiling fury that swirled behind her purple eyes. Lord Voldemort came to a halt halfway to the girl's dormitory, shocked. He turned around on his heels, but the Mystery Girl has already vanished into the darkness of the corridors in the dungeon, door to the commomroom already starting to close.  
10 minutes later, Tom Riddle came to a conclusion that it was wrong of himself to come to Slytherin 7th girls about Genevieve Bellamore. Of course he was greeted by everyone in the dormitory, even though he was a male, who weren't usually screamed in happiness when they entered girls dormitory, rather screamed in anger. But he was an exception. He was Tom Riddle.  
He first asked them politely for any information concerning the Slytherin 7th year, Genevieve Bellamore. But all of the answers that came from showering to him were things he didn't need to know. All of the girls blabbed on and on about the gossips that went around her in the school. All information he could acquire easily when ever he wanted to.  
"I heard Richard Collins like her!" one of the girls with curly blonde hair squeaked, and Tom Riddle had to resist himself from rolling his eyeballs.  
"I heard it's Canopus Lestrange who likes her! He accompanied her to the potions class this morning from the Great Hall!"  
"Ladies, ladies. Do you know anything about outside of school? For instance, her family, or her childhood?" Tom smiled kindly at all of them, and for few seconds, all the girls fell silent and stared dreamily into his charming smile.  
Until, "I heard she's a half-blood," a voice came from the corner, and all the girls seemed to be brought out if their trances.  
"Does anybody know anything else about outside of school?" Tom asked again politely, and heard murmurs of 'no'.  
That was more than what he had expected from the girls to answer. Afterall, he had already assumed that Bellamore is a very secretive person, why would she go telling her secrets to the one of the most known gossippers in the school? The bit on her blood-status was already a small, but good step. So he stood up, "Thank you all for your kindness and cooperation. You all have really helped me," and beamed at everyone. He even gave a small wink to the girl who told him about her blood-status, who apparently fainted from his wink. He exited the girls dormitory and headed back to the Head's dorm.  
He came to a halt in the third floor corridor. He sensed something.  
Somebody was staring at him. Tom took out his wand, looking around carefully. But seeing nobody was around him, he continued walking with his wand out, now more cautious.  
The next moment, he was staring at the ceiling. 'How did I fall off?' wondering to himself, he got up.  
Or, he TRIED to get up.  
He couldn't move an inch of his eyelids. He was PETRIFIED.  
Tom Riddle's mind rushed, But he didn't hear the spell, he never heard other people who can use non-verbal spells except himself, Malfoy and Lestrange. Then who could it be that casted him a full body bind curse?  
As his thoughts rushed through his mind, a face peered out from the corner of his eyes until it was right in front of me. It was a boy.  
And he sneered. Tom Riddle's eyes glinted with rage.  
The boy was about his age and was wearing a Gryffindor uniform.  
Tom Riddle panicked as he saw the boy snatch his wand away from him.  
The boy gestured somebody to come over, and Tom Riddle watched another boy come over and together, they carried him to somewhere he couldn't recognize just by looking at the ceiling. He tried to keep track of where they were heading until he was finally stupified, and all he saw instead of the Hogwarts ceiling was his back of eyelids.  
When Tom Riddle opened his eyes, he found himself in an empty classroom that was not used anymore. And he saw chairs and desks stacked up high in the corner.  
The person in front of him, was none other than Draco Pevensie. Now he understood. He now understood why he was here, and what Pevensie wanted. 'So you had enough courage to kidnap me, huh? That's so Gryffindor,' he thought sarcastically, fury raging inside him.  
"Hello, Riddle. It is very nice to see you on your knees in front of me," Draco sneered. That moment, his anger exploded inside Tom Riddle. 'How dare he curse the Dark Lord and take my wand away? Yes, I'll show him what exactly Lord Voldemort can do even without his wand!'  
"Don't worry, I've already ended the full body bind curse. You can move now," Draco Pevensie exclaimed happily. Tom Riddle glared. This little cheap bastard was really getting in his nerves.  
"What do you want from me? I'm a busy person and I don't have any time for your nonsense," Tom Riddle muttered darkly, and he felt his magic rush inside him, seeking for release.  
Pevensie seemed to be a little offended by his comment, "Well, let's see, what was our last encounter together?"  
"You've defeated me in the duel!" Draco admitted bitterly, "But that doesn't mean the Death Eaters had won the Order of the Pigeons!" Pevensie gave a high-pitched laugh.  
"And also you took away my friend, haven't you!?" Draco continued and spat at Tom's face. Tom remained still, but glared at him. He was going to kill that bastard very soon in a most painful way he can think of.  
"I didn't take your friend. I don't know what it is that's between you and Bellamore and neither do I care." Tom continued, "and what do you want from me?"  
Draco couldn't speak for few minutes, "Revenge!" he blurted out. "Even if you didn't take my Geney away, you still defeated me."  
"Do whatever you want to do, and let me go. I'm a busy person. And if I were you, I wouldn't call Bellamore Geney or Gene," Tom talked calmly.  
"I don't care what Geney thinks!"  
Tom raised his eyebrows and muttered, "what a nice friend," then spoke louder, "So what are we doing? You wouldn't say another duel, would you? It's obvious that you will lose again," Tom stood up.  
"No, no, no..." Draco smirked and took out Tom Riddle's wand, and shouted, "Crucio!"  
But Tom Riddle was ready for this. Verbal curses were too obvious and he was able to read Pevensie's actions too easily. So concentrating hard, Tom Riddle put all of his strength in his index finger, imagining where all of his magic flowed into that one finger, pointing at the curse Pevensie had casted. Wand would have been more effective, but magic could always be used without using wands as well. The Cruciatus Curse flew in a lightning speed, cackling slightly. But as his index finger pointed at the curse flying towards him, the curse slowly started to lose its energy and the light slowly faded away. Until, the curse finally vanished in the midair. The future Dark Lord looked up to Draco Pevensie in satisfaction and smirked, as Pevensie's fingers started to tremble in fear and dropped Tom's wand with a clank. But Lord Voldemort didn't dare pick his wand up, instead, "Pick it up, Draco. You and the infamous Dark Lord. I propose a duel. You will have a privilege of using a wand."  
"Now!" Lord Voldemort billowed seeing that Draco didn't pick up his wand. Draco squirmed, and slowly bent down to retrieve Tom's deadly pale wand, never taking his eyes off him.  
"Good. You know how to duel, don't you? Afterall, you're a pureblood. Your rich spoiled daddy must have told you how to when you were still young," Tom said in an icy cold voice. He finally let his dark magic to be released, and now it crackled dangerously around the atmosphere like a charged electricity. His magic spread through the room, surrounding and engulfing them.  
"First we bow," the Dark Lord said in an icy cold voice that stabbed Draco Pevensie's skin, "and on the count of three."  
Tom Riddle's eyes glinted in red, "One."  
"Two," Pevensie raised his wand at Tom Riddle.  
"Three," Pevensie's wand shot a bright red curse at Tom Riddle.  
He was surprised at first, because he knew that it was quite a dark curse. He swung his arm in front of him and dismissed the spell. If he had been hit, he would have been exploding into pieces of flesh by now. Now it was his turn.  
The Dark Lord swished his finger in an elegant, complicated move and a neon green curse shot out of his finger, and rushed towards Draco Pevensie who just stood there helplessly. Tom felt a satisfaction the moment when the curse left his finger, finally his magic was released fully, and the curse crackled dangerously.  
As soon as the curse had hit him square in the chest, Draco Pevensie was flown out into the air and landed on the floor with a heavy thud, Tom's wand leaving his hand and rolling on the floor a several times.  
"Then I guess I can say that I have won, again?" Tom Riddle sneered, "You can never win me, Draco Pevensie. And it might be just as well to stay out of my way, you will live longer."  
Draco Pevensie was shaken and his breathing was ragged, but it seemed that he was not physically hurt, although he may have got himself emotionally hurt, Tom Riddle sneered. It was good that Pevensie wasn't physically hurt because then he could have got his Head Boy job taken away, or worse, expelled. He was not going to ruin his image of role model student that easily, which he had been building for years.  
"Draco Pevensie," Pevensie raised his head in fear at Lord Voldemort's voice, "I would like you to answer me some few questions."  
Pevensie gulped. Perfect. He was afraid, and he would tell him everything now.  
"I need you to tell me anything you know about Genevieve Bellamore."  
Pevensie opened and shut his mouth several times, but no voice came out.  
The Dark Lord sighed, it seemed like he just had to do it in a hard way. So once again, he cleared his minds and concentrated hard while he bore into the eyes of Pevensie.  
There it was. Draco Pevensie's mind, unprotected by any occulmency. He decided to first give a little shake. He focused on imagining his minds tearing Pevensie's minds apart in pieces. Draco Pevensie started to hiss, clutching his head. And so it went on for few seconds, until Voldemort cleared his minds, and the hissing stopped as well.

Draco Pevensie's breathing was ragged now, and he was shivering, either from the pain or the fear, the Dark Lord did not know.  
Lord Voldemort once again cleared his minds, and concentrated on Pevensie's minds. He went in, and searched through memories of Draco Pevensie.  
A memory of him being sorted into Gryffindor, a memory of him with a man who appeared to be his father. Until, he found what he was looking for. In the memory, Genevieve Bellamore was talking to Draco Pevensie on top of the astronomy tower. Pevensie was listening to her intently, and Bellamore seemed desperate in a way. Tom Riddle zoomed into the memory, and he started to catch some parts of their conversation.  
"When I turn eigh... that's the time when I will... nothing I can do..."  
Weird. Why can't he hear their conversation fully? Is it because he was not concentrated enough? No, it can't be. Was Draco Pevensie resisting him? But he doesn't have any skills on Occlumency.  
It was that moment when Tom Marvolo Riddle felt a sharp stab of pain on the sides of his head. He had now completely lost his concentration. Another stab. Tom Riddle couldn't help but hiss at this pain. It was short, but they were strong and effective. Somebody was using Legilimency against him. It was a very strong Legilimency skill, since that somebody had enough skill to use Legilimency without looking into one's eyes. Even he couldn't do that, he had to admit. But who could it be? Draco Pevensie? Or somebody else from the Pidgeons, or even teachers? At that thought, Tom's stomach dropped few inches in fear.  
Teachers... Dumbledore?  
Damn it! He was almost there until discovering Bellamore's secrets! Until somebody distracted him! He knew he had lost his chance, and he will have to wait a while until next time to use Legilimency against Pevensie. Or the chance may never come...?  
In frustration, he grabbed Pevensie by his shoulders and whispered into his ears, "I will deal with you again sometime later."  
He released his shoulders violently, and stood up, and left after one last look around him.  
He couldn't see anyone who had used Legilimency on him. Maybe it was only an illusion, that pain... perhaps it was only a headache.  
He thought as he left the room and walked his way back to the Head's Dorm.  
But he never got to notice the two pair of eyes that was staring at him leaving the unused classroom. One pair of pale blue eyes that stared at him in fear. And another crimson colored eyes that glared at him in hatred.

A/N: Hello again! I was able to write the next chapter in few days, so here it is! In this chapter, I decided to show the dark sides of Tom Riddle. And I also heard some dislikes against Draco Pevensie because of how he threatens Genevieve, so I decided to let Tom Riddle take revenge on him instead of Genevieve. But hopefully Genevieve will have her revenge in later times too. In this chapter, Tom Riddle started his move to uncover the secrets of Genevieve and he was almost there, wasn't he? Only that he was distracted by somebody we still don't know... Another mystery! Who do you think this unknown character is? Is it a student, or a teacher, or some kind of a creature? I don't think I have ever written anyone with crimson eyes, except Tom Riddle of course when he gets angry, but he can't use Legilimency on himself so he is an exception. Comments and reviews are highly appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12: Afternoon Tea in the Dungeon

Chapter 11: Afternoon Tea in the Dungeon  
She was locked up in a small, metalic room. There were no windows, and a few light bulbs that shone from the ceiling. There was a door in front of her, but she didn't dare touch it because there was no point in trying. The door was made of thick metal and it was locked from the outside with dozens of huge locks. There was only a small cat-flap on the door that allowed food to be put in.  
There was no way in or out. She couldn't breathe and walls were closing in around her, trapping her, squashing her, and engulfing her.  
Then suddenly, the metalic lock opened and few men came in. Two of them who looked like a scientist, wearing white gowns with tiny specracles on their noses. And three more guards who were pointing a gun at her. She has came to learn in few years that they will never shoot unless she attacked them, or refused to obey. They never shot her, yet, but the fact that barrel being pointed at her made her feel uneasy all the same. She couldn't understand back then why they had to be careful with her. They all never talked, unless to give instructions. Genevieve once tried talking about the day's weather, but she was disappointed to see that only a grunt came as a response.  
"Could you imitate me?" one of the scientists grumbled.  
So Genevieve set her mind to look exactly like him. Soon, her skin started to make waves from her head to toe, changing her skin colour to pink-ish white from pale white. A second later, she was sitting in middle of the room looking like one of the scientist. None of the scientists or the guards seemed surprised by what she had done, since she had done something similar to this several times before. Now, the scientists surrounded her started to do many things to her, pinching, tickling and scratching her.  
"Now stand up," a scientist who had been scratching her grumbled. And now they started to measure their heights and weights. "Peculiar," another scientist muttered who had been taking notes, "it's exactly the same weight as you, Johnson."  
"So it seems, Davies," Johnson grumbled back to another scientist who just spoke to him.  
After that, they plucked out a few of her hair and rapped them around carefully in a white handkerchief.  
"What are you going to do with them?" Genevieve asked out of curiosity, but also because she wanted to talk with somebody. She had been staying in this suffocating room without any people to talk to, and she just felt like she needed somebody to talk with, any topic. "May I ask upon the reason why I am here? And what you are doing with those investigations?"  
However, none of them answered her. The only reaction she received was a grumble.  
"Can you try to be something else? For an instance... water," again one of the scientists named Johnson grumbled his command. She had already guessed that they were going to do something to her with the weapons the guards carried if she didn't obey them. So she focused on 'becoming water'. But this was completely insane. Human becoming water? That was impossible with human anatomy, physics, or chemistry. But she had to try. However not a single blue wave occured on her skin, and she couldn't change herself from looking like Johnson.  
"He said, transform into water!" one of the guards shouted at her, and pointed his gun at her head. Genevieve flinched and closed her eyes, not wanting to see what dying was like. 'It's bloody hell impossible, you dumb baboon! And take that barrel away from my head! It scares me a lot!'  
"Dear, dear . No need to point a gun at her forehead just because she COULDN'T do what she was told to do," tried to calm down the guards, "I knew from the beginning that it was impossible to turn into water, it's even impossible for her. I will be quite surprised if she was able to turn into something that is not alive." Finally, there is one sensible guy who would understand the concept of modern science.  
, the guard still hasn't lowered his barrel, but instead shot in the air few inches above my head. The bullet banged into the wall behind me, but it still remained unbroken.  
"Why am I locked up in a prison? Is it because of the possibility that I might try to attack you?" I was finally able put my question into simple words. The question that had been going around in her head for years and years.  
"Are you going to kill me?" I whispered the question to the backs of leaving scientists and guards.  
Nobody stopped to answer my question, except Mr. Davies. But he too, just turned around to look at me, his face representing some sort of emotion like... pity. His blue eyes swirled with sadness as he stared back at me for a fraction of a second, before he turned around and closed the door behind him with a metalic creak.  
And Genevieve Bellamore, seven years since she had started living in this place called hell, was left alone on her own in the cold metalic room of prison.  
Genevieve Bellamore shot her eyes open. Again. It was the nightmare again.  
She rised on her bed and rubbed her eyes as if trying to make the image of the metalic room disappear. Why was she having those night mares these days? She hadn't been able to sleep for days now, and she felt unrested.  
She felt a sweat trickle down her forehead, and staying inside the bed was just too hot and moisty. And worst of all, she felt her head so heavy and she had to endure the pain that was crashing her skull. Maybe what she needed was a nice cold breeze of October night.  
So she slipped down her bed, slid into her warm fluffy slippers, and wrapped herself in her nightgown. She should probably go to the astronomy tower, yes, that will do. And nobody will ever notice her anyway.  
So she stepped into the dark corridors of dungeon few minutes later. She knew exactly what to look like for a secret night stroll like this; Armando Dippet. He never got out of his office anyway, and who would ever a question a man of what he is doing, with such an authority like his in this school?  
She reached up to the astronomy tower in a few minutes. She came across a few prefects including Abraxas Malfoy who looked dull and sleepy, but all they did was say "Good night to you, sir," in an awkward way.  
As soon as she pushed open the door, she felt a gush of wind on her face. And she breathed in the cold dry air of October, and her brain became clear.  
Those dreams she had were just so... real. It frightened her every night quite seriously. She could still bring back those sad eyes of , whose favourite phrasing was 'Peculiar'. She had been forgetting all those thinga for such a long time, but now they were coming back to haunt her. But why now? She knew there has always been a whisper in her head since she the Monday morning, the first nightmare she had. The whisper that told her the only sensible answer she could come up with. Were these nightmares related to Sequi Mortem? She looked down to her right wrist, where the scar was. The scar was reddening and darkening by every week, and it sometime tingled. She rubbed her red wrist. No, it can't be. It can't be because of the scar. She tried to ignore those voices that said, 'It probably is.'  
Stop wondering about those nightmares, Genevieve! It's making your already-complicated life even more complicated!  
She then noticed the first stray of twilight that was starting to show in the sky.  
Well Genevieve, time to get back before your room mates starts to wonder where you are at. So she skipped down the stairs of the astronomy tower to head back to the dungeon.

* * *

"Wow, Genevieve. You look dreadful," Abraxas Malfoy exclaimed as Genevieve slumped down into the Great Hall's chair next to him, "Couldn't sleep well?"  
Genevieve nodded and yawned.  
"Well then, here, have some coffee," Malfoy pushed her a goblet and poured her a coffee.  
"Or you can have some pumpkin juice," Avery pushed her another goblet.  
"Or," Lestrange took a bun of bread and transformed it into a pillow, "you can sleep for the last 15 minutes until the first class in peace. We'll carry you to the Charms class if you didn't wake up," Lestrange's eyes twinkled.  
Genevieve chuckled and took both pumpkin juice and coffee, drank both in one gulp. Then took the pillow from Lestrange's hands and with a thud, started sleeping facing down at the pillow on the table.  
"Wow," she heard Lestrange murmur, "is she really sleeping? She's a sleeping beauty, hahahaha!"  
She also sensed Malfoy's hands stroking down her shoulder gently, and she immediately tensed with his touch. She didn't like to be touched.  
"Oh hey Abe, are you going to the Slug's party this night?" Lestrange asked off-handedly. "Cuz I need to borrow one of those 'proper clothings' from you again."  
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, you have to wear DRESSES? But she didn't have any dresses!  
"Yeah, I'm going tonight."  
"I can lent you my spare ones, Canopus," Avery asked.  
"Nah, yours are too small for me."  
"Oh, but I might have had the spare one. I'll check it later, Canopus," Malfoy offered.  
"Thanks, Abe."  
"I think we should start heading to the Charms," Malfoy murmured to his friends after a while, "Come on, Genevieve. It's time to wake up."  
"Wakey wakey, !" she heard Lestrange teasing her.  
So she lazily stood up and took her bag and a pillow, and followed Malfoy's hand to the Charms class which he had offered because she barely couldn't open her eyes.

* * *

Tom Riddle lazily dropped his bag on the floor and sat down on the front row seat, his usual seat. Soon, the classroom slowly started to fill in with other students.  
" , I'm afraid I must keep your... pillow until the end of the class," Tom Riddle raised his head to see Professor Gratt suppressing his laughter looking at the entrance to the classroom. Wondering, Tom Riddle turned around in curiosity to find none ither than Genevieve Bellamore standing at the entrance, half asleep and held tightly by Abraxas Malfoy.  
"Wake up, Genevieve. Wake up!" Malfoy whispered into her ear panickly eyeing the professor. By now, the entire class has noticed this appearance and many of them giggled. Lestrange snapped his fingers near her and she jumped, and finally her eyes seemed to be wide open. Her face started to turn red in an embarrassment as she slowly took in the situation.  
Genevieve felt her cheek turning hot as she came to notice the situation. She was still holding the pillow and everyone, including Professor Gratt seemed to be suppressing their laughter. She looked over to her right to see Abraxas Malfoy, who was observing her with a look of worries in his eyes. Genevieve spotted Tom Riddle, who seemed to be also amused by her embarrassing appearance to the first class of Friday morning. His eyebrows arched in surprise, and a small smile tugged on his lips.  
She had enough. She ran to her seat, trying to ignore the eyes that followed her. She sat down quickly, and Malfoy sat next to her, "I'm telling you. I DID try to wake you up," Malfoy whispered to her ear apologetically. Genevieve returned him her reply with a smile, and yawned.  
"Did you have a late night, ?" Professor Gratt asked curiously, "Here, have some of these, it's an awakening potion."  
Genevieve drank the neon green liquid. It tasted like a really strong mint bubblegum. And soon, her mind cleared and her eyes shot open.  
Observing her, "Hmmmmmm, interesting. From what I've heard from Professor Slughorn, you usually wouldn't need an awakening potion to wake up unless you have fainted, or drank a sleeping potion," Professor Gratt mumbled.  
"You haven't drank any sleeping potion, am I right?"  
Genevieve nodded.  
Professor Gratt looked around each of the students in the classroom, and raised one of his eyebrows.  
Ph, I knew those scamp were going to do something to her. How could you let your guards down so easily? Look at you! He had offered you a cup of coffee this morning, and you took it without any hesitation!  
Genevieve looked over to her right to face Abraxas Malfoy. He offered her a cup of coffee this morning, right? Abraxas soon noticed her attention, and shook his head desperately in disapproval.  
Genevieve next looked to her left to face Avery. And she found herself surprised that Avery looked extremely uneasy. Suspicious...  
Meanwhile, Professor Gratt has moved onto his teaching, and started explaining about today's spell and its effect.  
"Disillusionment Charm is a spell that causes a wizard to turn invisible. It's very useful when you get the hang of it. You can use it when you are sneaking out of the dorm after curfew, or stealing food from the kitchen," his eyes twinkled and beamed at everyone in the class. "But! I assure you, even if the prefects don't know, I am sure all of the teachers here at Hogwarts knows the anti-disillusionment charm. So if you are wishing to spend your last year at Hogwarts without any detentions, I suggest you follow the school rules just like before. Now there's a very similar spell to this called Bedazz-..."  
Genevieve was brought out of her attention when Avery handed her a small piece of crumpled parchment. She looked up to see him, and he nodded to urge her to read it. So she cautiously opened the note under her desk and she saw Avery's small and tidy handwriting.  
Genevieve, I'm so sorry that I embarrassed you this morning. You looked so tired at the Great Hall, so I thought that maybe I could use some of the Sleeping Potion Abe gave me last month. So I put a few drops in that pumpkin juice, but I didn't know that that potion was so strong!  
I'm sorry, Genevieve.  
-Alphard  
Genevieve couldn't help but smile. She lifted her head and formed a small smile on her lips towards Avery, who seemed very relieved by her action.  
"Oh, Avery. You are always just too kind. Too kind, really." Genevieve thought with a smug smile on her face.

"Hey, Malfoy?" Genevieve asked on the way to the common room from their last class.  
"Yeah?"  
"Is it true that we have to wear formal clothings at the Slug Club?"  
"Of course! Well, it's best if you could. Slither," the wall to the Slytherin common room opened and they stepped in. "You know, if you are feeling unsure about your clothings, you should come to our dorm," Malfoy added.  
The stairs from the common room  
on the right side lead down to the boys dorm, where as the stair to the girls dorm was on the left side. She skipped down the steps of shiny black obsidian and found herself in a dark corridor that circulated around the big fat circular wall in the middle like a snake, and the spiral staircase that still continued down the corridor to each of the grade's room. In fact, the entire corridor, from floors, walls, ceiling, decorative engravings of snakes and even candle-holders on the walls were made out of polished black obsidians. The green fire light reflected in the walls, and she was suddenly caught in the delusion of fliating green fires in the air. The design was completely the same as girls', except for the fact that there were more engravings of snakes rather than flowers and butterflies like in girls' dorm.  
Genevieve followed them until they've reached the bottom of the staircase. There were only single black door with golden door knob on the bottom floor, and in the green dim light, Genevieve saw a golden plate that read 'Seventh Grades'.  
"After you," Lestrange opened the door, and she felt dizzy from all the lights coming from their room that suddenly filled the dark corridor.  
In the contrast to the corridor, the room was very bright, made out of cobblestones, and from the window, she was able to get a clear view of the underwater of the lake. She saw fish and seaweeds, and maybe she even saw the giant squid. The lights entering from the lake was entering the room, and it illuminated the ceilings and floors into a beautiful colours of green and blue. The room was quite comfy with green carpets, a fireplace and some few couches around it. There were four beds, secluded from each other with book shelves and drawers. But one bed was empty, and Genevieve guessed that this bed belong to their dear Dark Lord, who has moved to the Head's dorm.  
"You can sit anywhere you want," Malfoy gestured to the beds and couches before turning around to face his huge drawer. Lestrange sat on his own bed which was placed in the area next to Malfoy's. His private corner was messy, and dung bombs, empty boxes of Chocolate Frog, Quidditch magazines and comic books were scattered all around the floor. But he didn't seem to care that his corner was messy, nor the fact that a Slytherin girl was able to see every inch of his embarrassingly and extremely messy area abd he sat nonchalantly on his bed while he waited for Malfoy to get him spare suits.  
On the other hand, Avery seemed rather embarrassed with his corner, and started tidying up, shoving everything under his bed as he mumbled, "Um..., sorry, that it's kinda,... messy." After a while, Avery hissed at Lestrange, "Canopus, you have to tidy your things up! It's embarrassing!" which he ignored completely by flipping through the pages of popular Quidditch magazine, 'Oi, Bludger!'.  
Genevieve decided to sit on one of the black couches in front of the fireplace. It was very warm compared to the freezing staircase outside the room.  
"Aha!" Malfoy finally exclaimed and took out the spare suit and tie.  
"Here, Canopus! Go and change into this!" Lestrange catched it, and went into the bathroom to change while he muttered, "What in the bloody hell is this...?"  
"Now, next is you!" Malfoy talked excitedly as Genevieve sat on edge of his bed.  
"Hmmm... Do you prefer dress? Or skirt?"  
"Skirt," Genevieve mumbled.  
"Okay then. Skirt and a blouse would do," Malfoy turned around once again to his drawer, and started rummage among the pile of colourful clothes.  
Malfoy's corner was surprisingly tidy, compared to what she saw in Lestrange and Avery's area. All the books were placed in the bookshelf, and there were no single dust or trash on the floor.  
"This, stinking painful bludger!" Lestrange came screaming out of the bathroom. "Can someone tell me how to use this thing!?" Lestrange pointed to his bow tie. Avery ran to him, and started lecturing to Lestrange about how to use the bow tie.  
"You see, I design some clothes. And I always wanted a girl to try out my clothes!" Malfoy turned back to her with bunch of skirts and blouse in his arms.  
"I think... you will look good with this green here... Okay, try these!" Malfoy handed her a white half-sleeved blouse and a green skirt that went down to her thighs.  
So she went into the bathroom, and changed. However, much to her worries, the Dark Mark was completely visible! And worse, her scar was visible as well. She could hide the Dark Mark if she wants, but not the scar. No matter how she tried, she was never able to hide that thing, not even when she turned into a diamond or when she had used magic spells. The scar never left and tainted her skin like a curse.  
"Umm... Malfoy? Everyone can see my Dark Mark with this blouse," Genevieve asked worriedly coming out of the bathroom. She can hide her scar with uniform she was no longer wearing. Then, she'll sort out about the scar later. It's okay, I still have time, she tried convincing herself, but failed.  
"Oh, it's okay," Malfoy flicked his wand, and now the Dark Mark was covered with foundation that was same colour as her skin.  
"And these are your shoes," Malfoy took out a pair of simple black heels, but with ribbons on it. Genevieve slipped them on.  
That was when she saw it in corner of her eyes. Something was shining in Malfoy's drawer. Malfoy noticed her gaze, and took out it from his drawer. It was a snake, or rather a, silver bracelet in the shape of a snake.  
"I got it from my gran when I came to Hogwarts. She said she was happy because I got into Slytherin like all of the Malfoys. I think she would have killed me if I didn't get into Sly-" but Malfoy's voice was drained out of her focus as her eyes caught the glinting eyes of the snake that was now in her hands. The bracelet was made out of silver, and eyes of the snake made of emeralds glinted mysteriously. This was perfect. This was just perfect to cover up her scar! And it was Slytherin-ish so nobody would question her about wearing it. And most of all, she liked it very much.  
"You can wear it to the club if you want to," suddenly Malfoy's voice rang in her head once again.  
"Really?" Genevieve's face lit up in smile.  
"I don't mimd," Malfoy shrugged and returned a smile, so she put it on her right wrist hastily.  
Now the snake twirled around her wrist and the bracelet covered up her scar completely, but it was very heavy.  
Now that they were all ready, they headed up the dark spiral staircase, through the dungeon to the Slughorn's office.  
Actually, Genevieve was in no mood for having a tea party with a teacher. And what did Lestrange say? They were going to talk about their family. And what was she supposed to tell them? Her parents freaked out with her wickedness and abandoned her? No way, she can't tell the truth, obviously. It will make things more complicated. She will just make it up and improvise. Yes, that's what she will do.  
By the time they've reached the Slughorn's office, and Lestrange knocked on the wooden door several times.  
"Yes?" Slughorn shot open the door.  
"Ah! ! Come in, come in! Hello there, ! Oh! And ! I'm afraid you all are just in time! Oho! And look who's here, !" Slughorn boomed in excitement and the voice seemed to echo through the corridor.  
Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery elegantly entered the room with acknowledgements to the teacher such as 'Good evening, sir.' But Genevieve couldn't help but stiff with curious looks other members of the Slug Club were casting at her. The atmosphere was very tense in this room, and Genevieve entered the room hastily. The room was obviously enlarged with a spell and there was a huge circular wooden table in the middle where everybody surrounded it. She was the only girl in the club, and most of the members were Slytherins. But that was understandable since Slughorn was the head of Slytherins. There were some few Gryffindors and Ravenclaws who looked uncomfortable compared to the Slytherins. There were no Hufflepuffs.  
Most of the seat was taken now, except the one next to Malfoy, who was now patting at the seat, encouraging her to sit next to him. But, Genevieve had to restrain herself from groaning, the only seat left was next to Malfoy, but also to Tom Riddle. Since she heard about Lestrange's scar, she felt uncomfortable being too near to the Dark Lord.  
She hastily moved over to the only seat left, ignoring the curious looks people still casted at her, including the Dark Lord.  
"Are you feeling okay? You look pale," Malfoy whispered into left her ear as she sat down.  
"Never better!" Genevieve tried smiling, but failed. Her voice must have sounded stressed too since Makfoy frowned a little, and worries swirled around in his eyes.  
Tom Riddle, now sitting on her right, was still staring at her intently in interest as his eyes sparkled in curiosity. It won't last long, Genevieve. Just ignore him.  
"Sorry Mr. Riddle, could you scooch over a little?" Slughorn's booming voice came, and suddenly, Genevieve felt Tom Riddle's presence much closer than before. Their shoulders were barely touching.  
"Now tuck in, everybody!" a plate full of sandwich magically appeared in front of each. But Genevieve didn't feel like eating at all.  
"Can I get you some tea, ?" it was Tom Riddle.  
Genevieve was silent for few seconds as she stared into his very pale grey eyes. You have to say something, Genevieve! Say something!  
"Yes, thank you," her voice was trembling much to her disgust. You have to stop trembling now, Genevieve! Tom Riddle is nothing!  
Genevieve watched as tea was poured into her cup. She took a sandwich from her plate with her trembling fragile fingers to distract her from Tom Riddle. But even then she took it, she couldn't eat.  
"Nice bracelet," Tom Riddle's smooth voice came to her.  
In reflex, she hid her right wrist under the table, but soon regreted it.  
Tom Riddle arched his eyebrows and a smug smile started to form on his lips. He now clutched her wrist painfully, and brought it up so he could examine it carefully.  
"What are you hiding from me?" Tom Riddle's cold voice stabbed her heart. I knew it will eventually come back to this. I knew somebody would be trying to uncover her secrets, since that night, when she turned into diamond. She felt the scar tingling, and shiver was running down her spine like it does when she was about to transform into something. Not now, Bellamore. Not in front of all those people. Your body must always be under control. Genevieve breathed in deeply to calm down.  
"Genevieve, are you really okay? You are shivering now," Malfoy's voice brought her back out of her thoughts.  
"Are you cold? Here, have my jacket," Malfoy took off his jacket and placed it over her laps. Genevieve gave him a weak smile, but she was unsure whether it turned out to be a successful smile or not.  
She risked a glance at Tom Riddle, who now looked furious at the fact that his interrogation was disturbed by Malfoy.  
"So, what about your parents, ?" Slughorn's voice boomed.  
"S, sorry?" Genevieve asked in a trembling voice.  
"Well, here has been telling me about his family. What about yours?" Slughorn's eyes twinkled in curiosity, and in corner of her eyes, she saw Tom Riddle raising one of his brows in curiosity as well.  
"Well," think of something, Bellamore! "I, I actually grew up in a muggle orphanage." She felt a stabbing glare from her right. Yes, my lord, I know that you don't want me to mention about Wool's orphanage.  
"My parents were,... both aurors. But they weren't lucky enough, and they died... during a duel with a dark wizard when I was a baby. So I was brought up by my aunt, until I was sent to an orphanage."  
Genevieve took a deep breath and looked around. I hope that was convincing enough. Fortunately, Slughorn seemed touched by this and Genevieve felt Malfoy's hand holding her own.  
"I'm very sorry to hear that, ," Slughorn said weakly, "Tell me, so your parents were both magical?"  
Of course, blood always matters in Slytherin. It should be safer to say pure-blood, rather than muggleborn.  
"Yes," Genevieve finally answered.  
The rest of the tea was quite boring. Slughorn asked everyone about their families and their blood's 'pureness'. After sandwich came scones then macaroobs and cakes. Genevieve didn't eat anything, but just sipped her tea little by little. Although it was uncomfortable while Tom Riddle studied her every seconds.  
Finally, the grandfather clock rang at seven o' clock.  
"Oh! You should be heading to the Great Hall for dinner! Although I suspect everyone is quite full!" Slughorn chuckled as he sent out the students into the dungeon corridor.  
Genevieve was just giving back the jacket to Malfoy with 'thanks' when, " ! Can I have, uh... a few words with you before you leave?" Slughorn said sadly.  
Genevieve told the three Slytherin boys to meet in the Great Hall later.  
" , I am incredibly sorry to hear about your parents," Slughorn started.  
"It's okay, sir."  
"You know, I think I know your parents," Genevieve couldn't help but frown at this.  
"You do?" Was that even possible? I mean her story was completely made-up, it was a lie.  
"Yes, yes. They were my students. Very lovely, talented, and kind, indeed the Bellamores. I was shocked when I heard they died 16 years ago."  
What...?  
"I remember I was very happy when they told me they were having a baby girl, it must have been you, then."  
What, what, what, what, whaaaaaaaaaat!?  
"Although, you don't really look similar to them. Ah, except your eyes. Your mother, also had eyes like yours, . They were purple, very rare indeed," Slughorn beamed down at her.  
"Sir, you must have someone mistaken, I never had parents with pure-" Genevieve stopped. She will be telling the truth if she finishes the sentence. She gulped down the word 'blood'.  
"But your parents were pure-blooded, right?" Slughorn asked curiously.  
Genevieve nodded. Actually, she was told that she was a muggleborn.  
"Then, sir. Could you please tell me their names? I mean, my parents?"  
"Sure, sure. Your father was Nicholas. Nicholas Bellamore. And your mother was Mary Black. But really, haven't you heard all of this from your aunt?"  
Genevieve shook her head, and mumbled something like, "I am starving. Thank you for everything, Professor Slughorn," as she headed out to the door. She ran out of the classroom. Nicholas Bellamore and Mary Black... She had to use the library now!  
But she was forced to stop dead in her tracks, as she heard an ice cold voice calling for her. She turned around on her heels.  
The person standing in front of her was none other than, Tom Riddle.  
"Funny," Tom Riddle took a step towards her and Genevieve took a step back with her natural instinct. His face was plastered with a mask that gave no emotion. Just plain, and cold I guess.  
"What's so funny?" Genevieve was surprised with how her voice came out stronger and colder than what she felt inside her head.  
Tom Riddle started to pase around her. "They told me that you were half-blood." His eyes glinted in the dark corridors of the dungeons.  
"Who?"  
"Your stupid gossippers!" Tom Riddle hissed dangerously like a venomous snake that was provoked.  
Now Genevieve understood. Her dorm mates must have told him some rumours about her blood status.  
"I knew somebody would have been snooping around about me," Genevieve glared at him as she slowly reached for her wand.  
Suddenly Tom Riddle pushed her against the stone wall behind her and clenched her wrists as though intending to crush the skeleton. Genevieve gasped in pain. Her wand fell from her hands.  
Tom Riddle drew closer to her and whispered to her right ear under his breath, "Why do you have to hide it from me? Tell me. Tell me, Genevieve!"  
His grey eyes bore into her purple's, and naturally Gemevieve put up her Occlumency guards. Over the years, closing her mind whenever she met somebody's eyes grew accustom to her, and now she couldn't help but be thankful to her habits. She felt Riddle's minds attacking her. He was pushing to break her Occlumemcy down.  
Her Occlumency guards were about to break when Riddle's minds gave up, and stopped attacking her guard. Genevieve sighed in exhaust and she was going to slip down the wall, but Riddle's arms still pierced her to the wall.  
She again looked into his eyes. Even though his face was perfectly calm and plain, she could see a red tinge starting to form in his iris. It was clear that he was irritated with the fact that he couldn't read her mind.  
"So you are an Occlumence, I see? Interesting... You are the first witch I've seen in my life who are an Occlumence, Bellamore. Impressive. But why was there a need to master an Occlumency? Clearly, you have something you don't want people to know," he whispered in her ears again.  
"I ask you the same question," Genevieve glared. "Why is there a need for you to be a master of Legilimency and Occlumency at the same time, at such a young age like yours?"  
It was now obvious that Tom Riddle's anger was boiling up in him. He wrinkled his nose in hate. But thankfully, this didn't scare Genevieve up even a bit. Now, her anger was about to explode inside of her as well. How dare he try reading her mind? How dare he use Legilimency on her!? Why did Riddle have to be so egoistic? He always got furious whenever things didn't turn up as he wanted. 'Like when he cursed Lestrange on his arm,' a voice inside her head answered and anger flared up inside her even more. Genevieve glared darkly at the Dark Lord.  
Tom Riddle couldn't understand. Few seconds ago, she was shivering with fear. But now in front of him, stood a very strong Bellamore. And at the same time, angry at him. Even as he pierced her to the wall, clenched her wrists harshly, or even if she didn't have a wand with her, she stood against him. She stood up against HIM. Now he could see her purple eyes darkening in anger, and once again, he could see hate swirling behind her eyes. Hate against HIM.  
Genevieve noticed Riddle's eyes moving from her face to her right wrist. What now, Riddle? What now? And, his face turned into an triumphant, evil smile.  
She moved her head to see his hand trying to remove the bracelet from her wrist as he still held onto her wrist. But finally, with his pale fingers he removed the silver bracelet. And she heard the bracelet hit the stone floor with a clang that echoed through the dark corridors.  
She looked back to Tom Riddle, who was now staring at her wrist in confusion.  
'What the bloody hell is this?' Tom Riddle thought as he stared down at her wrist. He had no idea what this was. It was a tatoo. Or rather a scar, maybe? It looked as if her skin had been cut, and ink was poured into her scar. It still looked fresh as though this scar had been made just yesterday. It was red, and looked painful. Her skin around that tatoo seemed to darken, and Tom Riddle saw an illusion of him being engulfed and swallowed by that tatoo. The darkness around the tatoo swirled as though a wind was blowing out from the tatoo centered in the black mist of darkness. The mark, or the tatoo, was quite simple. It was just a circle and an Egyptian one ( I ) placed horizontally across it. He knew he had seen this mark somewhere. It was probably an old language sign, like Latin. But he was sure it wasn't runes, he had been learning runes for four years so far and none of the sign like that came out in his class.  
Tom Riddle couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. He had guessed that there was something hidden under the bracelet, a clue perhaps, that will lead him to the answer about her past. And this tatoo probably was the key to her past. But he had no idea what this tatoo meant. He knew it was something dark. The atmosphere of dark magic was radiating off the scar. So now he knew how this tatoo was made, by dark magic, but not specifically. He didn't know the spell that created this tatoo, or its effects. Who casted it? Herself? Why did somebody cast this spell? There were just too many questions to be answered.  
He had to go to the library now.  
Somehow Tom Riddle seemed to be deep in thoughts. Most likely because his thinking what this scar meant, Genevieve thought to herself. It was really bad that she had let him see the scar. Although Genevieve doubted that he could find out more about the tatoo, not in the Hogwarts library, no. And he wouldn't go asking the teachers, would he? Although there won't be many who knows about this tatoo.  
Tom Riddle was now slightly frowning and biting his bottom lip, 'probably his thinking habits,' Genevieve thought. Even his strength on her wrists loosened a little. This could be her chance, only chance maybe. With a distraction she could get her wand and the bracelet, and leave! Once I get to the Great Hall, he won't be able to curse me. But on the way to the Great Hall she had a disadvantage; she had to show her back while running. Shall I just turn imvisible, or into a diamond? But she no longer didn't want to use her ability in front of Riddle as much as possible. Oh yes! She can use the disillusionment charm from today's class! Now that was a decent plan.  
She risked a glance at Riddle, who was still staring at her wrist, deep in thoughts.  
"Arrrrgh!" Genevieve stepped on his toe with her heels as violently as possible, and Riddle, like any person would do at that situation, screamed in pain. Fortunately for her, Riddle grabbed his toe in pain and released her wrists.  
As soon as her wrists were set free from his hands, Genevieve picked her wand up and dashed. She casted the Disillusionment charm on herself, and she felt as though a cloak light as air was covered over her head. And the next moment, she was invisible.  
She turned around and flicked her wand, and Malfoy's bracelet came flying into her hands.  
Tom Riddle was still clutching his left toe, where she had stepped on.  
"That minx!" he spat on the floor. Genevieve had to restrain herself from laughing out loud, and ran to the Great Hall. She had already kept her friends waiting for too long, and she was starving.

A/N: Sorry it took long for me to update the next chapter! This chapter's quite long, was this too long? By the way from last chapter the spell Lestrange casted at the gryffindor 'Amaia Karayan'. Amaia (basque) means 'End', and Karayan (armenian) means 'the dark one'. I'm not sure if this is true though since I don't speak neither of the language. And, 'Sequi Mortem' means 'Tracking Death' in Latin. And just in case if some people doesn't know this word, (I didn't know until I wrote this chapter :P ) 'minx', the word our dear Tom had said in the last part describing Genevieve. I actually find this scene quite funny. Anyway, 'minx' is a noun and it means a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men. Another nightmare for Genevieve, sounds like she didn't really enjoy your childhood. I feel sorry for her :( Oh, and I might mention about the silver bracelet Abraxas has in the later chapter, so it's best to remember it, probably! And finally, Tom Riddle is approaching Genevieve. Did it take too long? Sorry if it did. What do you think will happen to Tom and Genevieve in later chapters? . so excited. And Tom Riddle discovers a mysterious tatoo/scar on her wrist... I will start uncovering more of her secrets including about the tatoo in future :) Thanks for reading! Oh, and over 700 views, thank you very much! I appreciate them! :)


	13. Chapter 13: Seis Endecaricia

I have actually changed a little bit of this chapter. But I haven't cnanged too much, just a part of a conversation between Genevieve, Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard.

* * *

Chapter 12: Seis Endecaricia

"Where in the merlin's beard have you been!?" Canopus exclaimed as Genevieve slumped down on the Great Hall long chairs.

"Slug-horn," Genevieve was panting from the dash she had just taken.  
The Great Hall was already deserted since everybody must have finished eating long time ago. And now, Malfoy, Lestrange, Avery, and herself sat quietly alone at the Slytherin table.  
She reached for a basket of breads in the middle of the table. She was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch time, except that cucumber sandwich and gallons of Earl Grey tea served at the Slug Club.  
She was about to touch the bread but just then, all the food plate vanished into the air, including the baskets of bread she was just reaching for. Genevieve sighed in frustration. Of course, the dinner time was almost over and it was time for house-elves to start cleaning up. I guess she just had to sneak into the kitchen.  
"Here, we've saved some for you," Lestrange chuckled at her frustration and took out a napkin. Inside the napkin was two blueberry muffins.  
Genevieve was quite surprised by this. And muttered 'thank you' under her breath and smiled as she took the muffins from Lestrange's hands. Well, she didn't expect this.  
"And I still have stock of cauldron cakes in my dorm, if you are still hungry. And some pumpkin juice too," Avery smiled.  
Hahaha, always too kind, Avery, Genevieve thought. And After she gave a smile to Avery too, she started eating her muffins.  
"What happened to your wrist, Genevieve?" she heard Malfoy's voice.  
Genevieve froze. She can feel her stomach dropped a few centimeters and icy cold fear was gripping at her heart. Did he see ir? Her right wrist was still hidden with Malfoy's bracelet, but he didn't see the scar did he?  
Genevieve glanced nervously at Malfoy who was staring at her hand worriedly with slight frowns in his eyebrows. She couldn't breathe. She followed Malfoy's gaze to her left hand that was holding the blueberry muffin, but she could see nothing. At least, nothing wrong. It was only her normal skin, right?  
"What is it?" Genevieve frowned in confusion. If Malfoy wasn't seeing her scar on her right wrist, what was he worried about? Was something wrong with her left hand? Malfoy leaned into the table and stretched his arm over the table at her. He then pointed at her left wrist on the side silently. She twisted her arm to see the side and was surprised to find a big purple bruise. The moment when Tom Riddle wrenched her wrist came back. That bastard.  
But still, she couldn't tell about Riddle's unsurprising violent behaviour. She can't tell them, can she? If she says the truth, she will be bringing the subject about her past. And obviously, they will take this as a chance to question her. "Oh. I got my wrist caught in the door," Genevieve said off-handedly.  
She cursed at herself in her heart, but fortunately she was able to perfectly keep her expression under compose without any irritation seeping through. That was a horrible lie. She was quite satisfied about how good she was lying at. But this? This was just too obvious. How would a person get their wrist caught in a door?  
"Caught your wrist in the door?" Lestrange raised one of his eyebrows in exasperation. I knew somebody would be asking this, Genevieve winced.  
"Um," Think, Genevieve! Think!  
"You see, I was talking with the Old Slug... And... I was leaving through the door when that Slug suddenly caught my hand! He forgot there were few more things he wanted to talk about. But then, the door was already closing, then, well, you know the rest. The door squashed my wrist," Genevieve finished with a sigh of relief. Phew, that will explain. But she still had to admit, it's a rare coincidence for something like that to happen.  
"Wow. I feel sorry for you Genevieve," Avery gave a worried look. Lestrange nodded. Good, they believed her.  
But to her worries, Malfoy still eyed her bruise suspiciously. He wasn't convinced at all with her lies. That was understandable, I guess. Obvious lie like that can't deceive a person like Malfoy so easily. But still he didn't say anything and after a while and much to her relief, he averted his eyes from her bruise.  
"So, how was your first Slug meeting?" Canopus asked her rather blatantly.  
"Um..." Genevieve stammered. What was she supposed to say? To be truthful, she didn't like the meeting at all. To describe it in a word, it was uncomfortable. With those curious eyes all the others gave her way. Assessing her and trying to judge her from her looks. She also didn't like how the old Slug asked about everyone's family. She had to come up with some convincing lies every time a question was directed at her. And worst of all, Riddle. Riddle made the whole thing ten times worse. There was no doubt about that from the displeasing encounter she just had with him.  
"To be truthful, it was a little uncomfortable," Genevieve finally said.  
"I can kinda understand how you feel," Lestrange mumbled, "I could have been practicing Quidditch while I was wasting ages in that boring tea party."  
After a while hen he finished eating her muffins, "Hey, do you still wanna come to our dorm after you finish eating those muffins? I have lots of chocolate frogs, you know?" Avery said.  
"Yeah, why not?" Genevieve was just finished with her muffins, so she stood up as well with the others and started heading towards the Slytherin common room.  
It was back at the common room when Malfoy whispered into the other two's ears. And they eyed him worriedly, but still nodded.  
What were they talking about? About her? It was unsettling when people whispered about her. Why couldn't people just tell her if they were talking about her? She has a right to know, doesn't she?  
Malfoy started heading back to her, but he didn't give any chance for her to ask questions about what they were talking about. His face was very serious, and no glimpse of joy or mischievousness were in his eyes.  
"Follow me," was all he said to her. So she followed Malfoy down the spiral staircase to the boys dorm.  
This wasn't good. Malfoy was the last person she wanted to be alone with at this moment, maybe for the exception of Riddle. Malfoy seemed to know that she was lying and he would surely accuse her now that she was alone with him.  
They reached the boys dorm, and Malfoy headed straight to his section of the room but Genevieve decided to remain by the door.  
The room was still beautiful and visionary at the night. Silver moonlight entered the window through the water and danced in the room. Malfoy waved his wand, and a green small fire was lit to the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The green fire and the silver moonlight danced around together in the darkness.  
"Sit," Malfoy pointed to his bed.  
Genevieve hesitantly moved over to her bed and sat down. It was very quiet, and the only sound she could hear was her breathing and rustling of Malfoy moving. Genevieve looked over to Malfoy in curiosity. He now had his back on her and was crouching over his drawer in search of something. But from the clinking sound, she was able to tell that he was not searching for clothes. She can see Malfoy taking out different shapes and sizes of viral, each containing a different coloured potion, and trying to read the label in the dim light by squinting his eyes.  
Finally Malfoy turned around to her, and for a while he just stared at her. His stare was hard and severe, and it pierced right through her. Genevieve had to try hard not to flinch. She didn't like that stare. That knowing stare, it looked as though he knew everything about her. No. That's not possible. Her inner voice whispered. There are no chance he can discover about her past. So she raised her chin and stared defiantly right back at him into his eyes. She can see his sapphire eyes illuminating green lanterns and moonlight.  
But then, after a while of silence and awkwardness, Malfoy sighed and crouched by her, and reached for her left wrist. With her instinct, she brought her arm back to herself and eyed him suspiciously. What was he going to do with her wrist?  
But Malfoy just sighed again and forced her arm to be held out in front of him. Genevieve was surprised with his strength in contrast to his perfect composure his face gave away. Then he took out a tin can and started spreading lime-coloured cream on her bruise. She can read the label on the can that read 'Bruise Ointment' in Malfoy's neat handwriting.  
Her heartbeat stopped for a second.  
Genevieve was suddenly hit by a feeling of guilt. So, Malfoy just wanted to cure her? She risked a glance towards Malfoy. Still, his face showed no emotion at all. But she could still see some kindness behind his actions. Was he curing her so that he will have advantages over her in later time? She couldn't understand Malfoy, right now. His motive, his feeling behind his actions, everything. Her eyes bore into his, trying to spot any emotions he could see in those swirling eyes.  
"Does anywhere else hurt?" Malfoy asked in a composed voice that consisted of no emotion.  
Malfoy reached towards her right wrist to remove his slytherin bracelet. This time, Genevieve didn't withdraw her hand but hid her tatoo with her hand as Malfoy slowly removed the bracelet and placed it on his bedside desk. There it was. An ugly purple bruise just a few centimeters above her left hand hiding the tatoo. Malfoy started to apply more of his bruise ointment, and she could tell the effect was instant. Minty cold feeling started to spread from the ointment like icy liquid was spreading through her body under her skin, and the pain started to subside.  
"It was Riddle, wasn't it?" Malfoy blurted out.  
Genevieve looked away from her bruise up to Malfoy in fear. So he did know that she was lying.  
Malfoy finally looked up from her bruise, "I'm not stupid, Genevieve. I've seen Riddle trying to force the truth out of you during the tea. Believe me, I've tried distracting him by giving you the jacket," Malfoy added.  
"And I saw Riddle waiting by the door when we all left but you remained in the Slug's office.  
"I can guess what he did to you from your bruise. He must have slammed you by the wall and held your wrist. Am I right?" Malfoy finished. Genevieve's eyes widened in shock. He knew quite a lot, didn't he? Malfoy must have seen her surprised, because he said with a sigh, "Riddle likes to do that when he's interrogating somebody. And now that I know that Riddle slammed you against the wall, I'm guessing that there is another bruise on your back. Now, turn around."  
Genevieve followed his command, and soon she felt her blouse being tugged down until her shoulder was visible. She never noticed until then that her left shoulder was slightly aching, probably from another bruise. But that pain subsided as well as soon as the ointment was applied.  
"You have to tell us whenever Riddle hurt you, okay?" Malfoy's voice was still yet hard, but there was something else behind it. Is it... worry?  
Genevieve turned around on his bed to face Malfoy again. A few bruises aren't that horrible, is it? Why do I have to tell them each time? "But Malfoy, it was only a couple of bruises. It didn't do me much harm-,"  
But Genevieve had to stop herself as she was met by hard gaze Malfoy gave her.  
"It's going to get much worse, Genevieve. Much worse," Malfoy finally said. His voice was full of despair and bitterness, Genevieve was a little shocked. She had never seen Malfoy like this.  
"You have to care more about yourself, Genevieve. Lestrange's not the only one. We all get punishments from Riddle. We can't protect ourselves from what he does to us, but we can only cure what he had done to us. It's best to cure what we can cure before Riddle sends us another curse," Malfoy let his eyes drop until he found her bruise on her wrists. It was already starting to disappear, but Genevieve could still see the shades of purple.  
"Why are you... why are you trying to protect me?" Genevieve really needed to ask this question. This lead to many questions she wanted an answer. Why were they being nice to her? Why were they trying to protect her? Did they want something from her?  
Malfoy raised his head again to meet her eyes. He seemed to be shocked by her question.  
"You helped me, remember? You saved me at the Room of Requirement," Malfoy stared at her in bewilderment. Yes, she did remember. That night, she had saved Malfoy by knocking him over. And that had resulted in revealing what she can do, Genevieve thought back bitterly.  
Genevieve waited for Malfoy to continue, but he shut his mouth.  
"That's the only reason?" Genevieve asked in surprise.  
Malfoy said in confusion as he furrowed his brows, "What else? The only other reason I can think of is because you are my friend."  
Malfoy's voice echoed in her head like a broken record. You are my friend. You are my friend. You are my friend...  
"So,... you think of me as your... friend?" Genevieve was sure her voice sounded weak and bewildered, but she didn't care. She had no idea how to deal with his reply.  
Malfoy chuckled at her question. "I knew you are not that kind of a person who would trust people easily. But, yeah, we consider you as our friend. Don't you... don't you consider us as your friends?"  
Genevieve couldn't help but avert her eyes from his sapphire blue eyes. She had never considered them as her friends... or did she?  
"Yeah..., I do," Genevieve finally answered. But she still couldn't tell if that was what she thought. She felt like she couldn't think properly.  
"Does that mean,... you like me?" Genevieve finally asked the question she desperately wanted an answer to.  
Malfoy now stared right through her eyes. "Yeah. We all like you, Genevieve." That was all he said, but that was all she had to hear.  
With his words, she felt a warm tingling in her chest. Almost everything she had been thinking about them were wrong. They considered her as their FRIEND. They weren't staying with her because of some kind of profit they will have. They liked her. They didn't care whether she was different or not.  
"So, you guys really have no intentions to ask me about what happened in the Room of Requirement?" Genevieve asked.  
For a second, his eyes twinkled in curiosity but that quickly disappeared, "No," Malfoy finally answered and with a sigh he got up and turned to his drawer again.  
"We would love to know, but no. We'll wait until you feel like you can tell us everything," Malfoy turned around and smiled kindly.  
She was brought out of her still very confused thoughts when Malfoy-, no Abraxas crouched in front of her. She offered him a big chunk of cauldron cake with a genuine smile.  
She received the cake, and smiled.  
Abraxas Malfoy was surprised to see her smile. That was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen on her face. What he usually saw on her face was smirk, sneer or a sarcastic smile. But this one, he thought, he knew it was from her heart. She looked so happy. Her eyes were shining in delight and solace as she bit into the chocolate of cauldron cake.  
"Say, how did you get away from Riddle?" Abraxas sat next to her on the bed and took a cauldron cake for himself.  
"What do you mean?" Genevieve turned to Abraxas confused.  
"It's hard to get away from Riddle. So, how did you do it? Beg?"  
Thinking back, Genevieve felt like her heart was being clenched. Back then she had stepped on Riddle's foot. On Riddle's foot. If she had known Riddle easily curses at his followers, she wouldn't have stepped on him. She was going to get killed!  
"Um... I stepped on his foot...?" Genevieve said sheepishly.  
"Oh, I see," Abraxas took another bite on his cake.  
"Wait, WHAT!?" Abraxas screamed, but then he started coughing, choking on his cake. Genevieve had to pat on his back until he was able to breathe again.  
"YOU. DID. WHAT!?" Abraxas asked again.  
"I-, I stepped on his foot with my heel so I could run away from him."  
"Wha-, what..., why..." Abraxas was wordless for a while until, "Okay. You have to stay with us, Genevieve. Or somewhere crowded. Or even better if you could be where teachers can see you. Where ever you are, don't be alone with Riddle. Or he will do anything to you, and we won't be able to stop him," Abraxas ran a hand through his blonde hair.  
Genevieve just nodded. She had lost all her appetite by now. She was screwed. How was she supposed to escape the infamous Tom Riddle when he was so vengeful.  
"It's-, it's going to be okay, Genevieve. You are with us. It's going to be alright," Abraxas whispered more like to himself, and gulped. Yes, that was very encouraging, Abraxas. Thank you very much.  
"I'll be going back to my dorm now, then," Genevieve stood up from his bed. She didn't feel like talking about this. It was sickening, really. The idea that she has to live from now on being afraid of Riddle's shadows.  
"Oh, wait Genevieve!" Abraxas called as she headed to the door. She turned around and raised her eyebrows in question.  
"You have to apply this to your bruises every time before you go to bed," Abraxas gave a genuine smile. What he was holding in his palms was the small can of bruise ointment. Genevieve flashed a smile of appreciation, and left his dorm in the direction of her comfortable bed in the girls dorm.

Genevieve stifled a yawn, and closed the book with a loud bang in frustration which attracted some few curious stares from other students. She satin the corner of the library in the saturday morning sunlight. It was a great day, and Genevieve could see many students enjoying the weekend in the sunlight, some sitting by the Great Lake, some under the shades of trees. But Genevieve couldn't waste her time gazing dreamily in the beautiful day. She needed to research about her parents, and she was right on the way to that when she was disturbed by an unwanted, certain cheerful Dark Lord. Genevieve huffed in frustration at that thought. But now, back to her main track. She was informed by Dumbledore after informed of the magical world, that it was a pair of muggles who brought her to a hospital when she was a baby, aware of her wickedness. Which brought her to this prison. She had been believing her whole life that she was a muggleborn. But from what she can tell after hearing about her 'parents' from Slughorn last night, her parents were both a wizard and a witch. She was absolutely sure Slughorn just made a mistake, but the idea of pure-blooded family named Bellamore interested quite much.  
So, she reached for the last book from a pile; 'Purebloods and its noble families'. She skimmed through the table of contents filled with names of pure-blooded families. A...B... Bellamore... Bellamore... Bellamore...  
Unfortunately, she didn't come to any names such as Bellamore. Huh. That was expected, I guess...  
But she was brought out of her thoughts as a voice echoed from behind her.  
"Ms. Bellamore! Are you already starting on your homework? My dear... It's still saturday morning! You are such an extraordinary witch." Genevieve turned around in her seat and was confronted by Professor Slughorn, beaming down at her.  
"Hello, professor," Genevieve immediately put a mask of politeness. There was no need to come to the library if you haven't made mistakes because of your blubbering good memories!  
"My, my... Oho! I see that it is not your homework... but wizarding families?"  
"I was searching about what you told me yesterday, sir. About my parents?"  
Hearing her words, Slughorn's eyes dimmed. "Ah, about that, Ms. Bellamore. I have actually made mistakes... I am sorry to disappoint you, but Bellamores, they were actually the students of my very first Slug Club, muggleborn of course. I think I have gotten the names mixed up, quite unusual of me. But I just thought I saw those purple eyes of yours somewhere before in my life..." Slughorn bent down to observe her eyes.  
"Quite a unique colour really, purple... Ah, if you will excuse me, Ms. Bellamore. It was my pleasure meeting you, and I am indeed sorry to disappoint you," Slughorn threw her a sad smile and walked around the corner to another shelf.  
She threw the book she was just holding on the table, irritated. So, it had been nothing. It was all just a misunderstanding. She had seen Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery's name on the book, but not Bellamore.  
Since there were no reason for her to stay in the library anymore, Genevieve got up from her seat and left the library in direction of the Slytherin common room.  
She reached her common room after a few flight of stairs, and as she had expected, she found Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard relaxing on one of the couches near the fireplace.  
"Oh hey, Genevieve!" Canopus soon noticed and greeted her, his mouth full of chocolate frog.  
Seeing his bad mannered behaviour, Abraxas raised his head from his book and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Canopus, that's just disgusting. At least try your best in behaving your manner."  
Genevieve giggled and sat down next to Alphard, who was just playing a wizard chess against Canopus.  
"Honestly, Abe. There are already enough people to correct my manners back at my home. I don't need another one at Hogwarts. Imagine being lectured about behaviours by someone like YOU," Canopus sighed exasperated.  
Abraxas seemed to be in a mild shock about being offended as he sneered at Canopus, but he soon came to a conclusion that this topic was not worth discussing. So instead he turned to her and asked, "So, how's your bruise, Genevieve?" concern tinting in his eyes.  
"Don't worry. It doesn't really hurt anymore. But it still looks purple-ish, and it smells horribly like garlic."  
Abraxas chuckled, "Yeah. The only problem about bruise ointment is that it smells horribly like garlic. It's because of agrippa that's added during the making of-"  
"Aha! Check mate!" Canopus cut Abraxas through his explanation by screaming in delight. "Hahahaha. I won, Alphard. I won! That's three times already today!"  
"Awwww..." Alphard whined in disappointment.  
"Don't worry, Al. You'll win next time," Abraxas laid his hand on his arm comfortingly.  
"Yeah. One more, Canopus. One more." Alphard gave a challenging look to his friend.  
Canopus only shrugged, "Sure, as you wish. But don't blame me if you lose again," he smirked evilly and started setting the chess pieces for another game.  
"Oh yeah. Did you hear about the Halloween party that's coming on next week saturday?" Alphard spoke again after a while the game started. His bishop was just broken into pieces by Canopus's queen.  
"Wait. There's a PARTY!?" Canopus stood up on his seat.  
"Yeah. We prefects are planning and preparing for it. It's a costume party," Abraxas explained.  
"No alcohol, Canopus," Abraxas added in disdain, seeing Canopus in an excited mood.  
Instantly smile dropped from Canopus' face. "WHAAAAAT! There's no fun without alcohol! No alcohol, no party," Canopus concluded.  
"There's nothing we can do, Canopus. Alcohol's forbidden in Hogwarts, and teachers are going to monitor us throughout the party," Abraxas narrowed his eyes.  
Canopus groaned in frustration. "At least, there are some girls," Canopus mumbled rather sadly.  
"You know, we can all go together!" Alphard proposed, ignoring his friend's foul mood.  
"Are you coming Genevieve?" Alphard turned to her.  
Genevieve shrugged, "Maybe. I could be Jack o' Lantern."  
"Hahaha! I wanna see you in a big pumpkin! You're going to look like a plump woman or something! And then, you're gonna fall over!" Canopus bursted into laughter. And when he finally spoke, he's breathing were laboured. Genevieve decided his comments weren't worth replying and remained silent.  
"So where have you been all this morning?" Abraxas turned around to face her again.  
"Library," Genevieve shrugged.  
"WHAT!" Canopus again screamed as he stood up from his chair. Few of the Slytherin first years gave a quizzical glance.  
"Sush, Canopus!" Abraxas hissed, "Your voice is always too loud."  
Canopus hesitantly sat down, but he still didn't dare drop his voice. "But Genevieve, it's Saturday. In the morning. There are no people on this earth who thinks the library's worth it to pay a visit in the MORNING."  
"I think it's worth it," Abraxas argued persistently. But Canopus didn't even give him a glance as he said, "You don't count because you're not a human."  
Abraxas wrinkled his nose, feeling offended.  
"I just wanted to search for something,..." Genevieve mumbled, looking slightly uncomfortable. The three must have sensed how she did not want to talk, and so they did not question her any further.  
"You didn't meet... anyone else, did you?" Abraxas asked worried. Genevieve smiled as she shook her head. It was great to have someone worrying about her, trying to protect her from Riddle.  
"Checkmate! Ha, Alphard! Ha!" Canopus screamed out again in contempt.  
Seeing Alphard sigh in sorrow, Genevieve leaned onto the low table, "It's my turn. Can we have a match?"  
Canopus eyed her in triumph and said, "Sure. But don't cry even if you lose in shame. Even the know-it-all Abe here couldn't beat me." He sneered.

Tom Riddle glared darkly at the group of people sitting a few meters away from him in the Great Hall. He especially eyed one particular girl with disgust. The miserable idiots were talking and laughing over their dinner, unaffected by his death glare. Avery even banged his hand on the table several times in laughter, startling everyone else around them. Oh how he wish if he could take off that stupid grin on Lestrange's mouth and replace it with fear. How he wish if he could take that mischievous sparkle away from Malfoy's eyes by hurling a killing curse at him.  
And that girl. He hated her for some reason.  
But why...? He never disobeyed or disappointed you. A small voice whispered in his mind. But he didn't give a damn. But he hated her. Is it that look she always gives his way when she looks at him? That hateful look. It felt like... he was losing her.  
Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery, he wouldn't lose them. They knew well enough about him that he will curse the hell out of them when they disobey him. They won't leave him or plan to rise against him. And anyway, there are tons of people who could replace them.  
But not Bellamore. He felt some kind of... fear against her. No, not fear! vigilance! There were nothing he didn't know about in this school, except for her. She was something he did not know. She could be stronger than him, counting in her unknown talent. At least he knew that she could deflect spells. But he didn't know anything else about her. Was that a spell she used in the come and go room to become that glassy thing? As far as he knew, he only knew shielding charms and others that will only make a cover around him to protect him from curses. But there were no shields around her night. She herself was literally the shield. The curse hit her, but it didn't affect her. Does that... make her invincible? Tom shuddered at that thought. Somebody being invincible other than HIM. No, she must have some kind of weakness. And that look. It didn't particularly look like she was delighted to serve him. He will first have to find out her weakness. Or else he will have to live in precaution that at anytime Bellamore will try to strike him, or leave the Death Eaters. No, that was unacceptable. It will be such a loss to lose a valuable source. With Bellamore under control, he will be strong. Not invincible, but very strong. She will be his trophy. A trophy of power.  
He will try again. He will strike her again. More violence and fear should set her right in mins. He will finally show her her lowly place, and that she should never cross his path. Or step on his toe, Tom Riddle smirked darkly which sent few other Slytherins around him move uncomfortably in their chairs, eyeing him worried and wondering who the next unfortunate victim was.

Genevieve stood up from her chair. She was full and tired, and she just wanted to fall into bed. But she was NOT going to sleep until she win that wizard's chess against Canopus.  
"Hey, could one of you levitate me to the dungeons. I'm sleepy," Genevieve mumbled as they exited the Great Hall in the direction of the Slytherin common room.  
"Yeah, levitate me too, Abe," Canopus mumbled.  
"Me too!" Alphard jumped in excitement.  
"No. And clearly you are not sleepy at all," Abraxas pointed at Alphard.  
"But I am not going to sleep until I win that wizard chess against you, Lestrange!" Genevieve hissed at Canopus, who flinched under her scrutiny.  
"Hey, easy. You already lost five times and you won zero. There's nothing to be ashamed of," he smirked, "After all, nobody can win me."  
"Pff, I am not going to give up until I win."  
"Oh you are so bull-headed, Genevieve! Pleeeease, I wanna go to sleep," Canopus whined.  
"Say where did you learn how to play chess?" she asked.  
"It's my father. He gave me that wizard chess set when I was five," he groaned, obviously annoyed by the fact that she didn't respond to his beg to play some other time.  
"Okay then. I'm gonna learn how to win a chess from your father. And then I'm going to challenge you," Genevieve declared.  
To her wonder, an awkward silence fell among them, until Alphard finally broke it. "Canopus... his father, was... killed by an auror engaged in a fight. He was suspected that he was working with Grindelwald because he was half German and he was born in Germany. He refused to admit it, and it became a duel when he was about to be sent to Azkaban."  
"It was never true. My father believed Grindelwald was right, but he never joined him," Canopus sighed but then forced out a grin, "But it was two years ago. I still miss him, but I still have to admit that he's never coming back."  
Genevieve felt horrible. She ruthlessly brought out a topic about his dead father.  
"I'm sorry, Canopus. He..." Genevieve laid a comforting hand on his arm, "He would have been proud of you for being so strong at chess."  
Canopus chuckled and flung an arm over her shoulder, now his usual smirk plastered on his face, "Tut, tut, Genevieve. I'm not strong. I'm invincible! Haha!" He grinned down at her, and his eyes sparkled mischievously.  
Genevieve giggled in relief that Canopus was back to his normal self again.  
"Umm... Excuse me, miss?" a voice rang from behind her. They all turned around on their spot in wonder of the owner of that small voice. It was a Slytherin first year and Genevieve glared at the boy.  
The boy coward under their scowl and mumbled shakily, "Professor Slughorn has asked me to tell you that he wants you in his... ur, office." And he dashed away from there, too afraid to wait for her reply.  
"What does that old sluggy want this time?" Canopus still glared at the boy's back suspiciously.  
Genevieve just shrugged.  
"Maybe he wants to talk about your parents again," Alphard suggested, but Genevieve very much doubted it. He had already told her that it was just a mistake, that he never really met her parents. So... was it about her essay on Draught of Living Death? She thought she did pretty well on that...  
"Do you want us to accompany you to his office?" Abraxas brought her mind out of her deep thoughts. She turned around to face him, and worries were tinting in his eyes.  
"No, it's okay. It's only a few steps down this corridor, so," she gave a reassuring smile.  
Canopus and Alphard bit her farewell and started leading Abraxas to the common room, who still seemed to be reluctant to leave her.  
Genevieve skidded down the few steps leading further down to the dungeon. At the end of the corridor, just around that corner after passing the potion ingredients cupboard.  
But just as she turned the corner right, she was forced to face someone and she stopped dead in her tracks. It was none other than, Tom Riddle.  
For a while, they stood in silence as he glared mercilessly at her. A moon light eliminated his face into a silvery glow, and his grey eyes sparkled calmly. His usual perfectly combed black hair shown in the light.  
But finally, she sighed and turned around on her heels to head back to her common room. She should have known it, hadn't she? Abraxas was right. How could she be so careless? Slughorn had never called her to his office. Riddle did. He had forced that little boy to force her to come walking into his traps.  
"We've met here before," a cold voice echoed from behind her and she stopped but she didn't dare turn around to face him. She had no intentions on facing sneering at her retreating back.  
"Yes. Last time I saw you, you were clutching your toe in pain, and you were calling me 'minx'." She couldn't hold it anymore, she just wanted to see that bitterness or irritation on his face. Ha! His pride should be broken into pieces. So she turned around, and sneered. Just as she hoped, his right hand twitched to his robe pocket, but his expression was indifferent as ever.  
"And I assume I have made you bruises," he sneered. Her anger flared up a few notches as she kept on glaring at him.  
"Well then, if all you wanted to do was to provoke me, I guess I don't have any more time to waste with you," Genevieve turned around on her heels and left him standing miserably in the corridor.  
Or rather, she has attempted to leave. The next moment, Tom Riddle has clutched her wrist tightly and hurled her around so that she had no choice but to face him. His face just a few inches away, Genevieve flinched. Tom Riddle was not that taller than her, but still, his presence made her feel like she was only a size of a goblin, staring up fearfully at a towering man. His face was perfectly composed, but Genevieve noted his iris had somehow turned into red from grey. He scowled at her for what seemed like for ever. But then, his face turned itself into a charming, lovely smile. Genevieve shuddered at his sudden change of expression. "You should learn to never cross my path, Bellamore. I intended to teach you that lesson last night, but it seems like Genevieve Bellamore is not that clever than I've thought. So, I would like to make sure tonight that my message is clear," his smile was still polite in contrast to his icy voice, his eyes twinkling. But then his gaze turned into a death-glare, "NEVER. CROSS. MY. PATH."  
With that, he banged her into a wall, successfully trapping her in between his arms. Great. She must have already made few new bruises. That was delighting.  
Riddle drew his wand, and she hitched in fear. But Riddle only casually waved to his surroundings, which she noticed as silencing charm and repelling charm.  
His cold hard gaze wandered back to her, and she felt herself trembling. She gazed back at his red sheen in his eyes fearfully. It was hate. Fuel of hate burning those flames in those eyes. Those never ending rage and anger.  
She noticed too late when he flicked his deadly white wand again; this time at her. Shortly later, she felt a small stabbing pain on her left cheek, and warm blood trickled down her cheek to her neck. Genevieve watched in precaution as he bent down to her, clutching her chin. So close that she could smell his pleasant smell of cologne as she shivered. Pleasant, but at the same, frightening. She flinched when his warm tongue briefly licked her blood. He pulled away from her and as she stared at him with wide eyes, he licked her blood from his lips, smirking with an eyebrow raised. Genevieve let out a shuddered breath. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her fear against him. She needed to get out of this place now, or the curse will get worse.  
"Pity. An ugly scratch on such a beautiful skin," he caressed her cheek, but all the while an evil smirk played around his mouth.  
Genevieve knew what he wanted now and anger was rising second by second. He was encouraging her to turn into that diamond, he already knew she could do such things, didn't he? That she could deflect curses when she becomes a diamond? To be truthful, Genevieve herself wasn't quite sure if becoming that diamond self will repel spells.  
She was scared. She was trapped. Riddle had his wand pointed at her. There were nothing she could do to protect herself. She was helpless.  
Scared and helpless... How dare he invoke fear in her again!? She had had enough of fear for lifetime already, and she had always been running away from them hasn't she? Always running away, never fighting against them to protect herself. But not anymore. She was going to fight against Riddle. Nobody, in this world, can scare her.  
But she had no intention in transforming into that right now. Not in front of Riddle. He was obviously after her past and secrets. She was not going to give them in so easily. He may have been able to get whatever he wanted from when he was small, but not anymore. I'm gonna teach that bastard things doesn't work in his ways in this world.  
Bring it on, Riddle.  
Curse as much as you want, hurt as much as you want, but you are not going to get it.  
"I'm going to teach you tonight, Riddle, that I'm a one big bull-headed girl," Genevieve glared at him.  
Riddle's playful smirk dropped from his lips, and he flicked his wand again. This time again, a gash, but deeper one appeared above her eyebrow, and another stream of her warm blood flowed on her skin. The dark red blood contrasted her pale skin in the moonlight.  
"I would like to see you try. In the end, you will tell me the truth," he sneered.  
"Pureblood, you say? Your blood status? Then I presume you have no knowledge on any muggle weapons?" Riddle raised an eyebrow. And out of his inner robe pocket, he took a dagger. The dagger had a handle decorated in gorgeous curves with silver linings. Her breathing stopped as her eyes landed on the glinting dagger. Of course she knew them!  
"This, , is called, dagger in muggle world," and his voice composed as he pressed the tip of the dagger on her neck. Another pain, and the warm trickle of her blood. Then he moved the dagger to her left arm and hovered over it for a while, before he drew away his dagger in order to stab her arm. This was bad. Few cuts were okay, but deep stab will make too much blood loss. So she concentrated all of her magic to be released without her wand. As usual, her magic followed her orders and was made into a force that shoved Riddle away from her. Riddle looked confused for a moment, still unable to tell what had just happened.  
But as realisation sank in, his face turned into an angry scowl, and he brought up his wand to point at her.  
But she was fast enough to pull out her wand in one swift movement. Riddle stared at her wand in astonishment, "You. You dare point your wand at your own master?" he hissed.  
"I'll do what ever I want to protect myself," she glared coldly at him.  
For a while, they just scowled at each other, prepared for the other's attack that might come at any moment. Until, Riddle finally twirled his wand in a complicated move and sent a curse at her. She noticed it as the Cruciatus Curse, so she flicked her wand and quickly cancelled the curse coming towards her. Riddle raised an eyebrow in mild amusement, and sent another curse at her. This time again, was a dark curse. It was Seis Endecaricia, ancient dark curse that already existed as early as Middle Ages. It was a deadly slicing charm that separated human into six pieces, often used in executions. So she brought her wand down in one violent movement, and a green transparent box appeared around her. The Seis Endecariciacrashed into her shield, and Genevieve was taken off guard by Riddle's raw power behind the curse. Her protego shield shook violently and turned into a dirty yellow from bright green. She ordered more of her magic to flow into the shield.  
Riddle's eyes widened in shock as the magic behind her shield strengthened. He risked a glance at her; fire behind her purple eyes burned aggressively. He was taken back with her rage. Was it... possible that he might lose? He instantly dismissed his worry. No, Lord Voldemort never lose! So he ended the curse, and hurled another dark curse at her. Exitium Reverie, one of the darkest curses he knew where the curse will bring out the victim's worst fear or memory and cause an unbearable pain in their heads while repeating the worst experience in their heads, until after a minute, they will go insane. So he waved his wand in a complicated move and slashed it down towards her. A blood red curse flew out of his wand and sped towards her.  
Genevieve widened her eyes in shock. Riddle dare curse that at her in Hogwarts! Yes, she knew that spell. It was in The Dark Arts and its Development in the restricted section when she read it two years ago. It was unavoidable and no shielding charm could protect her. It was either throwing a similarly powerful and dark curse, or jumping to the side. She barely remembered how to cast it, but protego won't spare her this time. She had to try. So she waved her wand and slashed it down at Riddle, putting her full magic in the curse. The same blood red curse shot out of her wand and crackled towards Riddle. Genevieve saw a glimpse of Riddle inhaling sharply at her actions. He must have never thought she will know this curse. The two curses collided in the middle with a loud crash, and the two wands connected through one curse. Her head swirled with the raw magic of Riddle supporting the curse, and she forced herself to put more of magic into the curse as the length of her curse started to shorten. She felt dizzy from tiredness and her hand shook with the curses' force. For a while, the two curses stayed in the middle, cracking and sending sparks everywhere. It seemed like this was going to last forever. But she can't bear that long. Already she was using too much of her magic, but Riddle seemed to be suffering as well. She just hoped Riddle will give up and let himself take the curse.  
But then, something impossible happened. But it was so sudden that Genevieve only catched a glimpse of what just happened. There was a loud crack and the connection between the two wands started to separate from the middle. Like one string was untangling itself to the other, the two curses separated each other, and started to rush towards them. Whether it was Riddle's or her's she didn't know. But the curse collided with her chest and she was flown backwards until she banged her head in the side with the floor. A sharp pain stabbed her entire body as the force of floor impacted with her and she hissed in pain. Clutching her head, she raised her torso, one hand shakily supporting her weight. Seeing Riddle lying on the floor, she assumed that Riddle was flown backwards as well. She was about to smirk in satisfaction as an image came into her view and instead of her pain in the head subsiding, it increased, making it unbearable. She screamed in pain and her head swirled at the image before her.  
She was in a small room, and it was freezing cold even though the window was closed. In front of her, was a boy. About six. The indifferent expression, neatly combed hair and very pale skin. She was looking up at her, but he didn't say a word. He was just looking up at her, and it was impossible to tell his feelings from his face, except his eyes. His grey eyes were screaming at her in pain and sadness.  
The room and the boy soon disappeared before she recognized anything. And only the boy's screaming grey eyes remained in front of her. She was lying on the floor and a cold sweat trickled down her face. The pain in her head subsided again but her breathing was laboured. She blinked a several times, and the eyes disappeared as well. Her focus came to Riddle lying before her, few metres away. Her vision was swirling but she could still make out his figure. He was screaming for a second, until he stopped, and lay there for a while. His hands twitching and shaking as he lay face down on the cold stone. Was that... was that Riddle? The small boy from the vision, he looked definitely like him. Yes, that was Riddle.  
After a while, Riddle raised his head accusingly at her, surprise shining behind his swirling eyes. Genevieve wondered if he saw her in the vision. That unsettled her very much. He didn't see anything bad, did he? She felt like running away to her safe dormitory. Away from the pain, away from the small boy, away from Riddle. She tried moving her legs, but she couldn't move an inch as a pain shot through her. Riddle was the first one to move. He shakily stood up and stumbled towards her. He then dropped by her and grabbed her by her collar, raising her. Although his hands were still shaking, his grip was surprisingly strong.  
"What, did you, see," Riddle spoke in a demanding way. And his low voice was laboured but at the same time threatening. Genevieve just stared through his red, glinting eyes. The beautiful grey eyes she had seen in a memory were gone and was replaced by horrible blood red eyes. Genevieve still remained silent one because she was too shocked at what she had just seen and two because she was toi exhausted to talk. She felt like all of her energy were sucked out and she didn't even feel like opening her mouth to mock at him. Riddle's eyes widened in rage and he slapped her across her left cheek. She was hurled to the floor and Riddle spat at her.  
"Remember, Bellamore. I will not give up," with that Riddle risen and stumbled away from her through the dark and deserted corridor.  
She lay there for a while. Even though she kept on telling herself that she should head back to her dorm, she couldn't move an inch. Only her eyes blinked. After a while, she started to hear footsteps echoing in the corridor. Her eyes shot to the direction of footsteps in fear. Was Riddle coming back? Two foots stepped in front of her, and she raised her eyes to see the face of Riddle. But it wasn't Riddle. Although her vision was blurry, she could see that the person was a blonde. Then a familiar voice echoed from over her head.  
"Genevieve? What happened?" he crouched beside her and brought his face closer so that now she could finally see his sapphire blue eyes.  
"Abraxas?" Genevieve's voice was rasped as she held her trembling arm towards him.  
"Here, let me take you to the common room first, then I'll hear your story," and Abraxas easily lifted her up in his arms, and carried her back to the Slytherin dorm. Relieved by Abraxas' presence, Genevieve went to sleep in his arms.

A/N: Siris-spanish (six)  
Ende-german (death)  
Caricia-spanish (stroke)  
Exitium-latin (destruction)  
Reverie-french (dream)

There's another chapter! I'm soooo sorry it took such a long time (I had a writer's block)! And I hope I can post the new soon. Riddle strikes Genevieve again!... and fails miserably. I hope everyone can see that Genevieve is already starting to change from when the story started, I think she is mentally stronger and she is starting to reach out for help... Do you think it's going too fast? Stories in general, characters learn and develop through out the story, do you think Genevieve is developing too fast? Please tell me what you guys think! And of course, reviews are highly appreciated ;) And thank you for more than 1000 views! (Three zeros! Yay!) Oh, and thank you **Sexyback15** for following and favouriting me and Marvolo's Ring! It really kept me going when I wasn't sure how to develop the story! Thank you very much!


	14. Chapter 14: His Father

Chapter 13:His Father

Genevieve woke up next morning in a sunday sunlight. She noticed in surprise that she was in a bed. How did she get from the corridors into here was a mystery. There was a snore, and Genevieve's head shot up in warning until she found the source of the sound. It was Canopus Lestrange, half falling off his bed. She looked around the room and found herself in the boys dorm, Abraxas and Alphard still sleeping as well in their own beds. Now she remembered. She was lying on the floor last night until Abraxas came to pick her up and carried her onto the former bed of Tom Riddle in the boys dorm. She lazily sat down on the bed and walked up to the bathroom. Seeing herself in the mirror, she noted that three of her cuts from last night were already starting to heal. Abraxas... Genevieve thought bitterly, now I owe you two. Although she still felt dizzy, most of the swelling and sickness were gone. Wanting a cold fresh air, Genevieve lazily stumbled through the common room to outside the Slytherin dormitory. She should head to the Astronomy Tower. The view and the strong wind up there always cleared her head. So she shuffled up several of the stairs to reach the tower. She wasn't surprised to encounter nobody on her way. She bet it still was very early in the morning. Hogwarts was silent as though she was the only one living here.  
Strong wind hit her as soon as she opened the door to the tallest tower in the Hogwarts. She gazed dreamily at the mountains and rivers of Scotland.  
What was that thing that just happened in between her and Riddle last night? That boy, he was probably the younger version of Riddle. So does that mean that was his memory? But that was impossible. The Exitium Reverie curse was supposed to inflict pain and remind victim's own bad memories. So maybe her own curse rebounded? She dearly hoped Riddle didn't see any of her bad memories. Maybe a clue was written in that book, where she found the curse. She was sure she read every words in that book, but just in case, she might as well check it. So she leaned away from the fence of the tower, and after taking a quick shower in her own dorm, sped towards the library.  
As she had expected, the library was deserted as well. She quickly strolled into the Restricted Section. She still clearly remembered the book's lication. Fifth row, book shelf by the window on the left side, third shelf, seven books from the right. So she sped towards the fifth row and frankly ran a finger over the book's spine. There it was. The title read 'The Dark Arts and its Development' on the black spine. She was about to pull the book out of the shelf when she noticed another pale hand reaching for the same book. She followed her gaze up the arm, and found Lord Voldemort staring down at her coldly. Merlin! Is Tom Riddle everywhere in this school!?  
"Good morning, ," Tom Riddle greeted softly as he sent her a polite smile. Genevieve suppressed an urge to roll her eyes, so instead took the book and turned around to leave the place. She had had enough of Riddle. Back then in the orphanage, she had no idea that Riddle was such an annoying git. But then a hand grasped her's tightly, "You don't have to be so rude." Genevieve glanced back at his face in irritation. His face was plastered with an innocent smile, "I just wanted to have some light conversation."  
Genevieve backed away from him and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Why wasn't he forcing out any informations from her?  
"What do you want from me, Riddle?" she asked coldly.  
"Nothing. I just wanted to know if your cuts from last night were okay," concern tinted his voice. He reached his hand to stroke the small cut on her cheek. Genevieve shuddered as his cold hand came in contact with her skin. This new attitude of Riddle unsettled her. He talked like as though it wasn't him who had made those cuts yesterday. Surely he still haven't given up on revealing her secrets. These actions of his... there was something behind all of this, but she still couldn't tell what.  
She backed away from him until her back collided with another bookshelf and she watched in fear as Riddle closed the distance in between them. He then picked up her hand to see her already healing bruise on the wrist. "I see that your bruises are starting to heal. Good, good. I believe Abraxas supplied you with the bruise ointment?"  
Genevieve only nodded. Where was this going? But from the indifferent expression on Riddle, she couldn't tell anything. She noticed she preferred Riddle when he was angry. Then at least she could prepare herself from curses Riddle hurled at her.  
"Why do you care?" Genevieve stammered.  
"Obviously, because I don't want any ugly bruises or cuts on your alluring skin," he said in an melodious way.  
Riddle mentally smirked at the uneaseness of Bellamore. His plan was amazingly effective as for a sudden flash of ingenious inspiration. Observing his situation, it was now obvious that violence and obligation won't solve his problem. Look at what it ended up in when you tried to question her with pressure last night! A big bruise was added now not only on his toe, but also on his back. That bitch. He will just have to use his charming smiles and sweet words to bring out information. She wasn't like one, but at least she was a girl. His days at Hogwarts has proven that no females can resist the perfect gentleman. Kind, well-mannered and mesmerising. She still may act harshly, but as he starts to warm her up a bit in the inside, she will soon start following her master like a good dog.  
He took a strand of her hair and put it behind her hair. As he had hoped, Bellamore's eyes widened in fear and she flinched.  
"Riddle...?" her unsure voice mumbled shakily.  
He smirked. Because Bellamore was quite aggressive for a girl, it felt great to scare the hell out of her. She was trembling, and her eyes were like a doe caught in a trap. The sight of her drove him mad. So he bent down to her, her face only few centimetres away from his. He could slightly smell a perfume of sweet blackberry.  
"Do you know what I'm thinking now?" he whispered into her ear. His smirk widened as she shook her head in panic.  
"I was just thinking that you are a most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life," and he trapped his grey eyes onto her purple's as he softly but firmly held her chin.  
Genevieve inhaled sharply as she felt Riddle's lips on her neck. It traced kisses up and down on her neck.  
"Riddle..., stop," Genevieve scowled at herself for her shaky voice. But Riddle didn't dare stop. She could feel him smirking on her neck's sensitive skin. Instead, he deepened the kiss and started to suck on her skin. Her voice squeaked as the pressure on her skin started to become painful, and his tongue brushed against her neck.  
"Riddle... Riddle, stop!" Genevieve pushed his chest away from her so that he stumbled away. A look of innocent surprise was plastered on his face as he stared at her in disbelief. Her head was spinning and her breathing was still quick as she ran out of the library. Clutching the book in one hand, and her neck in another.  
Tom Riddle smirked evily at her running back. His plan was working perfectly. She was obviously bewildered by his sudden change of attitude. But that kissing... that wasn't really necessary, was it? Tom scolded himself. He was already scaring the hell out of her even without the kissing. He must remember next time to not get dragged on.  
Genevieve ran straight to the Great Hall. She just wanted to forget about what just happened. So, she pushed open the door to the Great Hall and sat down alone on the Slytherin table. None of her friends were up yet, so she opened the book to the page of Exitium Reverie.  
Exitium Reverie, also known as The Endless Dark Dream, is not commonly known, but yet it is considered the most suffering curse invented in the wizarding world. The curse drives the victim insane within a minute by invoking pain and fear or one's trauma.  
The curse was invented during Renaissance by 16th century's Italian dark wizard, Kelestres Al Capone. Al Capone is famous for his ingenious mind and many other dark curses he has created throughout his life. It is believed that the idea of Exitium Reverie was already created during his childhood at the oldest wizarding school in Rome, _. However even for his great minds, it took him decades to finally complete the spell because of the complexity of the curse. The basic idea of the curse is still yet unknown, since the actual record of Al Capone in his invention of the curse was burned to ashes during the fire in his late years, which also caused his death. Although not many are known about Exitium Reverie, it is highly recommended not to cast this curse at each other under any circumstances. Again, the cause is not yet revealed, but the effects vary and are undesirable to any men. The incantation is 'tenebre inghiottono eternamente' and the movements of wand is illustrated below in figure α.  
The article on Exitium Reverie ended there and was no longer mentioned in any pages. Genevieve was disappointed that there were nothing really new. She knew she should have never cursed Riddle with Exitium Reverie because obviously it caused her an unbearable pain last night. But this has proved that Riddle and she did something that they weren't supposed to do.  
"Good morning, Genevieve," Genevieve raised her head to see Alphard smiling.  
"Hey," Genevieve smiled back but she regretted that her voice was still shaky.  
"Are you now okay with the injuries from last night? We were quite worried seeing you bleeding and trembling-" but Abraxas was interrupted by Canopus.  
"Are you okay?" Canopus whispered with wide eyes and Abraxas was forced to raise his eyes from his coffe.  
"What?" Abraxas furrowed his brow in confusion.  
"She's got another bruise!" Canopus hissed.  
"Bruise?" Genevieve furrowed her brow as well, "Where?"  
"On your neck!" Canopus pointed to her neck. Genevieve immeditely put her hand up to where Riddle had kissed. That bastard! She was going to kill him. He has made a bruise on her neck by kissing her? This was embarrassing! Abraxas blushed slightly and averted his eyes from her mumbled, "Have you been kissing somebody?"  
"You're quite aggressive, Genevieve," Canopus whistled.  
"No, I was more of, kissed forcefully against my will," Genevieve hissed at Canopus.  
"But who? Is it one of your admirers?"  
"Our beloved Dark Lord," Genevieve muttered darkly.  
"Riddle?" Abraxas raised his head in caution, "What did he do to you?"  
"We met in the library, and I was sort of trapped."  
"That git! He was cursing her last night and now he's kissing her?"  
"More like harrassing her," Alphard corrected Canopus.  
"No, no. This is more dangerous than kissing or harrassing. I think, Riddle changed his tactics," Abraxas furrowed his brow in concentration.  
"We already know that he's not a kind of a person who give up so easily. Seeing that violence couldn't open her mouth and tell the truth, he decided to use his handsome smile so that in the end you will listen to his orders like other girls. He can't use those smiles and compliments at us, because obbiously, we are guys. But you are a girl so he has another way to make you follow his orders."  
"Woah. You are smart, Abe!" Alphard exclaimed and Abraxas blushed slightly.  
"But isn't that better? He's not going to hurt her anymore, right?"  
"I can't guarantee that he will hurt her. After all, it's Riddle who we are dealing with. You shouldn't let your guards down, Genevieve. As for now, I think you need some bruise ointment." So Abraxas took out the bruise ointment and handed it to her, which she applied on the bruise on her neck.  
A week has passed quite quickly and it was already the end of October. Although Riddle didn't dare corner her, his curious stare always followed her everywhere she went.  
"Today's Hogsmeade," Canopus yawned on the breakfast table.  
"Finally! It's a weekend," Alphard took another bagle, "Do you guys wanna go together? I have to buy some few things from Joyful Jodan's joke shop."  
"Sure. I wanna go looking for new books to read," Abraxas mumbled sleepily. Alphard gasped in exasperation, "Abe! You ALWAYS go to that bookshop! And you never go to Quidditch shop. Why is that?"  
"Al and I suspect he's in looove with the counter woman in that book shop," Canopus whispered to her, but made sure it was loud enough for Abraxas to hear it.  
"I am not!" Abraxas exclaimed.  
"What did he say last time? Her vanilla perfume drives me mad!" Canopus mocked fainting in exaggeration.  
"I didn't say that!"  
"Her name's , and I think she's over forty," Alphard talked excitedly and Genevieve giggled.  
"I hate you guys. Did you know that?" Abraxas imitated a puppy dog eyes and all three bursted into laughter.  
Ten minutes later, the four Slytherin Knights of Walpurgis set foot on the grass of Hogwarts' grounds, waiting for the carriage. The carriages soon arrived, and they all got in while Canopus held the door for her. She mumbled a small 'thanks', which he acknowledged with a little bow, smiling. They all remained silent during the short bumpy ride to the Hogsmeade. And Genevieve spent her time gazing out of the window at the October sky.  
Hogsmeade was full of excitement towards the Halloween. Magical flying replica of bats flew around the entire Hogsmeade, and the famous sweet shop, Darkins and Jenkins gave out new Halloween sweets. The Jack o' Lanterns were placed around the shop, which exploded with crackers once in a while and poured blood-tasing candies and trantula bonbons from the sky. Genevieve did not want to know what those new candies tasted like, but Canopus bravely popped the candies in his mouth.  
"Bah, it wouldn't taste that horrible. I mean, they're candies!" but soon his face turned pale, and dashed from that place in search of bathroom to vomit. They visited Darkins&Jenkins and Joy Jodan's joke shop as soon as Canopus came back. Although he still looked pale, it seemed that his nausea was gone.

Tom Riddle exited the library irritated. That bitch had taken The Dark Arts and its Development with her, the very book he wanted to read. Unfortunately, there were no reference to Exitium Reverie in other books. That means he will just have to take the book away from her. But he must wait until he comes back from Hogsmeade with her pathetic friends. He just couldn't understand why it was worth it for her to spend time with them. They were just a-. Tom Riddle halted and massaged his temple. A headache started to grow in his head until it became unbearably painful. Tom hissed in pain and laid his weight by the wall. Breathing heavily, he clutched his fists tight. He was just starting to think he was going to faint, when he started to see visions in front of him. It was a girl, running in the streets on a rainy day. Most likely London. Then the scene changed. And it was a pair of pale blue eyes through half-mooned spectacles. Then it changed again. This time, the girl was sitting. But more like locked up in a metalic room. The girl was crying. Tears streamed down from her purple eyes...  
Tom cracked his eyes open and inhaled sharply as though he was suffocating. He was lying on the floor and he felt the cold beads of ice on his forehead. He was trembling. So after taking a few deep breath, he stumbled up. And entering one open classroom nearest to him, he conjured a small chair and sat down quietly to calm his mind. He dearly hoped those swelling would be gone soon.  
His mind flashed back to the vision he just had. What was that? Was that, one of Bellamore's memories like yesterday? Those purple eyes, it had to be her. It wasn't everyday that he met a person with purple eyes. She was locked up in a cellar. It felt great to see her crying, making her look vulnerable, but what caused her to do so? And those eyes... were those Dumbledore's? Yes, he couldn't be wrong. He felt a shiver run down his spine remembering those cold glare of Dumbledore in Bellamore's memory. There were so many things he couldn't understand. But those were just glimpses of her memories. He will just have to wait. Judging from it, it seemed that this seeing of other's memory was quite common. Although the headaches were disturbing, he will soon get all the pieces of her puzzle, and he will be able to connect them together. Already at this point, he knew some parts of her past. She was locked up in a cellular, presumably for a long time. And Dumbledore has got to do with them.

Genevieve clutched the handle of her butterbeer. Stab. She groaned. Again. Another pain shot through her head. This time, Abraxas turned his head to see her, a smile quickly being replaced by a frown and concern.  
"Genevieve? What happened?"  
"You know... ugh, you guys just keep on talking... I'm gonna have some, fresh air," Genevieve squinted her eyes as anither stab hit through her head.  
"You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Alphard asked.  
Genevieve just shook her head and with a weak smile, turned around and started stumbling towards the exit. She stepped out of One Broomstick into the fresh dry air. She was hoping that fresh air will make her feel better, but it didn't. She stumbled towards a tree, and laid her shoulder on the tree. The pain in the side of her head was unbearable now. But then she saw the boy again. Grey eyes and perfectly combed hair. Only that he was older now. He looked more like Riddle in these days rather than his childhood. He was walking under starry night towards a big mansion. And the scene changed. Riddle was standing in front of her. Or, no it wasn't Riddle. It was the exact same copy of Riddle only that he looked older than Riddle she knew. With some wrinkles and strands of white hair visible in his hair. He looked terrified. "I beg you! No! I'm sorry! I'll give you anything! Anything! Do you want money? This house? I'll give them all to you! All! So, please! Have mercy, have mercy!" the older Riddle kept on rattling in panicky voice. By his feet, lay two bodies. The next moment, another body lay beside them. The Older Riddle. Unmoving, unpeaceful.  
Unalive.  
"You were too late, dad. Sixteen years late," a cold voice of Riddle echoed quietly through the house, undevoid of any emotion.  
"Genevieve! Genevieve! Ge-ne-vi-eve!" a familiar voice brought her back to the present. Genevieve forced her eyelids to open, and found Abraxas' eyes staring down at her. Behind him, were Canopus and Alphard. She woke herself up from the ground.  
"Wha- What happened?"  
"Well, you didn't come back, so we came to check out on you. And then, you were lying on the floor," Abraxas stared down at her in worry.  
"What the bloody hell happened, Genevieve?"  
Genevieve gazed at Canopus, unsure of what to say. Until, "I guess I had too much of butterbeer," Genvieve mumbled sheepishly.  
"We should head back now. You still look shaky, Genevieve. And you, Canopus, you still look pale," Abraxas turned his gaze towards the castle. Canopus nodded desperately. So they all started heading towards the castle in tge rustling wind. All of them moved onto the topic of asking Canopus how the blood candy tasted like. Except Genevieve, who couldn't forget about the three dead bodies lying on the floor. And the painful, cold and cruel grey eyes that calmly stared at the bodies. In contrast to the dead man's unemotional eyes, which had a single tear on his cheek.  
Genevieve shuddered as te realisation sunk in.  
Tom Riddle had killed his father.

Genevieve opened the door to the Great Hall and entered with Canopus and Alphard. Genevieve was dressed up in Morgana's costume, Alphard in his favourite quidditch team's uniform and Canopus in a vampire suit. And they all stood in the Hall, dreamily staring at the decorations. The Great Hall was mesmerising. Jack o' lanterns with evil sneer on each face floated in the air around the ceiling, and bats each coloured in black or orange flew around them gracefully. As soon as the door closed behind them, flying creatures with furs flew above them and created an arch. One of them landed on her hand and stared up at her with wide eyes. It was a creature she had never seen before. It looked quite similar to a bat, but they were more like two huge eyes stuck on a chunk of black feather, with two small legs sticking out and a big two dragon-like wings.  
"Abraxas did quite a good job, hasn't he?" she heard Canopus murmur behind her and she nodded in agreement. She knew well that Abraxas has been busy all these weeks for preparation of the Halloween party, but this was far beyond expectation.  
"Do you like it?" Abraxas dressed in a pirate's costume suddenly appeared by them. Abraxas wore a simple ragged shirt with black pants, a cutlass hanging by his side. Alphard screamed with his sudden appearance.  
"Don't scare me like that, Abe!"  
"You scream like a girl," Canopus chuckled.  
"This is quite amazing, Abraxas," Genevieve grinned, "What are you supposed to be?"  
"I'm a pirate. Do you know there were pirates in the 18th century? They are bunch of aggressive mens who attack and take away money and,... ladies."  
Canopus' eyes widened in amusement, "That's awesome! I'm a vampire tonight, who's going to suck blood from all the attractive women in this hall!"  
With that, he turned around abd found Jessica Parkinson standing nearby. He twirled her around in his arms, "Hello there. You look awfully delicious."  
Parkinson giggled, "And who are you supposed to be?"  
"My apologies. I am earl Lestrange. And I have a tendency to suck blood from beautiful women. Do you care to dance?" Parkinson shrugged, so Canopus lead her to the dance floor, winking at them.  
"What are you supposed to be, Genevieve?"  
"I'm Morgana. I couldn't think of anyone else."  
"I thought you wanted to be Jack o' Lantern?" Alphard smirked.  
"I was going to, but then I noticed that I was likely to trip over with the costume."  
Alphard chuckled and Genevieve asked, "Who are you supposed to be, Alphard?"  
"I'm Eagerl Winston, of course. He's the best seeker ever in Wimbourne Wasps! Look, I even made a flying snitch!" He took out a golden snitch from his uniform pocket, and it flew around their heads until Alphard catched it.  
"Woah. You made it?" Abraxas raised his brows in interest.  
Alphard grinned, "Yup."  
"Can you tell me the spells you've used?"  
"Maybe, if I felt like it," Alphard smirked, and left to discuss more about quidditch teams with groups of students dressed up in other quidditch uniforms, crowding around the food counter.  
Genevieve and Abraxas went to sit by the table. She smirked as she saw Alphard talking animatedly with the quidditch fans, and showing his snitch proudly in front of people. Releasing, and catching constantly. On the other side of the Hall, Canopus was still dancing with Jessica Parkinson, who was dreamily staring up at her earl.  
But after a while, she turned to Abraxas again, "Could you tell me about those pirates again?"  
She had actually been wondering about the pirates. She knew pirates existed in muggle world around 17th to 19th century from some of the few books Wool's Orphanage kept, such as Treasure Island. But she never thought there were pirates in the magical world.  
"Yeah. They existed around 18th century. Pirates those times used magic to improvise their ship, like invisible ships, of flying ships, or even ships that can go underwater."  
"That's like Davy Jones," Genevieve chuckled.  
Abraxas widened his eyes in shock, "You know him? He's not that famous. You furrow your brow, but it's true. Mythical Davy Jones is famous, but the historical figure isn't that known. He had a ship that can sail underwater."  
The classical music were over now and now a drum started to echo in the Hall and guitars joined. "We invited the Polkadot Ravens. You know the famous band?" Abraxas murmured.  
It was just then when they saw Orion Black approaching them. Genevieve felt Abraxas' breathing as he whispered into her ear, "Orion, he's one of your admirers. Go and dance with him, you should enjoy the night!"  
"Good evening, . Malfoy," Orion Black acknowledged them and Abraxas nodded in greeting.  
"Can I have a pleasure of dancing with you, Genevieve?" Orion Black offered his hand to her, and after a few moments, Genevive took the hand hesitantly.  
Thirty minutes later, Genevieve ran to the drink counter with Agatha Rookwood to get a up of butter beer. She was feeling so hot now that she felt like she was evaporating. So far, she had danced with so many people including Orion Black, Gregory Featherstone from Ravenclaw, George McTavius from Hufflepuff and more. She had even danced with some of her dorm mates, like Parkinson, Yaxley and Rookwood. She had never noticed dancing was so much fun.  
"Tonight is wonderful," Rookwood said in a melodious way and Genevieve nodded while sipping butter beer from her cup. She couldn't agree more.  
"Although, I wish if Tom would ask me to dance," Agatha Rookwood stared at the air, dreamily. Genevieve almost gagged on her drink.  
"RIDDLE?" she asked while coughing.  
"Yes! Of course! No girls on this Earth would not wish for Riddle to dance with her! I mean... he's so charming, handsome, kind, and gentle..." Rookwood's cheek blushed slightly, "Don't you agree?"  
She couldn't agree to Rookwood that Riddle was gentle and kind in any way. Actually, he was far from it. But, thinking about him, he could be considered handsome compared to the others... Twinkling grey eyes, perfectly combed hair and fat lips. His face, his smell and how he talks. Every part of him was what women dreamed of as one's prince. He could be very charming. And he would use his charming smile and handsome face to trick everyone!  
"I wouldn't say he's ugly," Genevieve finally stated carefully.  
"Ugly? Ugly! UGLY!? Then who would you call handsome? I haven't seen anyone handsome than Tom in my life. Have you? Could you introduce him to me?" Rookwood screamed out. It was just then that she noticed Abraxas sitting on his own in the corner, staring up at the dancing couples around him.  
Genevieve quickly excused herself and ran away from Rookwood as he took another cup of butter beer for Abraxas. Those people! Those thoughts that goes around their heads! She couldn't bear it anymore. It was fun to dance with those girls from her dorm, but it wasn't entertaining at all to discuss about Riddle.  
She slumped down to a seat beside Abraxas and handed him a cup of butter beer. Abraxas eyed her curiously as he took the cup and sipped from it quietly.  
"What happened? I thought you were having fun with Agatha?"  
"No," Genevieve crossed her arms. "No, because they think Riddle is handsome, and they want me to introduce a guy I have never met! Those nerve of those girls!"  
Abraxas furrowed his brows, "You do notice that you are talking nonsense, right?"  
Genevieve wrinkled her nose.  
Abraxas chuckled, "So, you don't think Riddle is handsome?"  
"Maybe he is. I also think he's very kind and gentle."  
Abraxas sneered in sarcasm.  
"What about you?" Genevieve glanced at Abraxas from corner of her eyes. Abraxas raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you going to dance with anyone? Don't you like somebody?"  
"I'm not really interested in girls. I found out last year that the only girl I liked was rather fond of Canopus," Abraxas pointed his chin at Canopus, who was now kissing Christina Yaxley.  
"Yaxley?" Genevieve furrowed her brow. This was unexpected.  
Abraxas nodded. His longing eyes were perched onto the back of Yaxley. Genevieve suddenly felt an urge to comfort Abraxas, and tell him that there someday will be a girl who likes you. So she placed a hand on his shoulder and said boldly, "Hey do you wanna dance together?"  
"What?" Abraxas turned his head to stare at her.  
"Do you wanna dance?" Genevieve repeated, and threw a bright smile. Abraxas faltered, so she pulled him up with her.  
"But Genevieve, I don't know how to dance," Abraxas mumbled.  
"You don't need to know how to dance to enjoy yourself," and she drgged him to the dance floor where the sound was amplified and very loud, and everyone was getting crazy.  
"You just have to listen to the music, and do what ever your body wish to do!" Genevieve shouted over the guitars to Abraxas and twirled him. Abraxas stumbled, but was able to restrain himself from falling over. Genevieve giggled and twirled herself on that spot. Seeing her smile, Abraxas slowly started to sway a little bit, until he started to twirl her around until she got dizzy, now both of them smiling. Abraxas laughed out loud when she troppled over to Qwntin Mason because of dizziness, who widened his eyes in shock until the eyes were perfect circle. It was when they were jumping up and down, holding hands together when she felt a stab of pain in her wrist. She furrowed her brow and instantly stopped jumping. Abraxas noticed her weird action and stopped jumping as well, "Genevieve? Did you drink too much butter beer?"  
Genevieve nodded, "I'll just go to the loo and cool down," she threw a bright smile again in assurance.  
Abraxas, seeing her smile, nodded and started dancing with Jessica Parkinson. After a while of watching Abraxas laughing with Parkinson in satisfaction, she headed out to the exit. Again, those flying feather balls created an arch above her as she exited the Hall and left all the chaos behind her. She was swaying a little and visions swirled around her. But this time, no pain in her head came. This was something much more different. All she felt was the constant pain in her wrist, and swelling.  
As she shut the door of girls lavatory behind her, the booming music was shut off completely and silence fell. She stumbled to the mirrors, and looked at herself in the mirror. There were nothing wrong with her face. Pale as ever in the silvery moon light, only a little flushed from all the dancing. Then what was this feeling? She slowly raised her right wrist and held it as she gazed at it. And slowly, she pulled the sleeve to reveal the scar. She gasped in shock. Mysteriously, her black scar was few centimetres bigger in radius compared to the last time she had observed it. The scar was swirling aggressively and it seemed much darker than usual. What was happening to her? She clutched her scar in fear, and she hissed in pain.  
"I have always been wondering what that tatoo of yours meant."  
A cold voice echoed in the hollow girls's bathroom, and she whipped back to see to whom the voice belonged.  
"I don't know what it is, yet. But I can see that tatoo is getting bigger. Is it like a some form of a curse?" Genevieve absent-mindedly hid her curse by placing a hand over it. In the moonlight, Tom Riddle's skin looked very pale, but his eyes were shadowed and she couldn't read his expression. Apart from the fact that he was smirking. Genevieve backed away to the sink, not taking her eyes off from Riddle.  
"Does it hurt? If you tell me what spell or curse it was used, I can cure you," Riddle formed a gentle smile on his lips, "There's nothing I can't do, Genevieve."  
Pff. He had even used her first name.  
"Riddle. I don't know what you are talking about-"  
"Oh, I am sure you know exactly what I'm talking about."  
"It's only a tatoo-"  
"A tatoo that was created by dark magic. After few years of learning about dark magic, you start to sense, or feel the dark magic around you. I can feel it, Genevieve, the dark aura. I first thought it was coming from you, like myself. Powerful, but dark. But I noticed after the Slug Club tea that the dark aura was coming only from part of you; your tatoo."  
Riddle slid his arm around her waist, and enclosing her hand in his, he started to sway a waltz.  
"I know so many dark curses, Genevieve. And I know I can cure you, if you could only tell me about the curse and how you got the tatoo."  
"I know you are suffering from the curse, Genevieve. You are sometime hissing in pain, or clutching your wrist. Those will get worse, probably. And such a pure and beautiful witch, like you doesn't deserve any of that."  
Carefully analysing her expression, Riddle hesitantly leaned over her, and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. He then started to kiss her tenderly, as though he actually did care and love her.  
"You only have to tell me the name of the curse. And you don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care. I'll save you," Riddle whispered into her ear.  
"You can trust me, Genevieve."

Genevieve stared into his grey eyes with wide eyes. She didn't believe any of the words he had just said. Maybe that's how he had killed his father. Suddenly images of Riddle ruthlessly killing his father came back to her in waves. Maybe that's what Riddle told his father before he killed him. 'Trust me'.  
"Is that how you killed your father?" Genevieve finally said in a deathly cold voice and she felt Riddle's arms tensing around her waist. His smile instantly dropped from his face and his eyes hardened.  
'You were too late, dad. Sixteen years late' Genevieve mimicked him. Riddle now released her and stepped away from her. His eyes were now red and his voice was slightly shaking from anger, "Where did you hear that?"  
Genevieve didn't reply to his answers, but instead, "What made you kill him?"  
Genevieve saw a flame rising in Riddle's eyes. For a second, she thought she had gone too far, and she considered running away from him before she got into more trouble. But unexpectedly, Riddle spun around on his heels and started to pace to and fro in front of her.  
"He was a muggle." Tom Riddle finally spoke.  
"My father, was, a MUGGLE. Do you know how that feels like? You grow up in an orphange, packed with muggles, for seventeen years. And when you search about your father, he turns out to be a muggle. It made me feel like I am made of muggle. Muggle's disgusting blood, runs in my vains! It made ME disgusting!" Riddle was shouting now.  
"What makes you think that muggles are worthless!? Some muggles can be nice!"  
Riddle remained silent, suppressing himself to not shout at her, but still sent glare at her.  
"I can't believe it. I thought anybody out of you, a pureblood, will be disgusted by muggles," he finally said coldly.  
"No, Riddle. I am not," Genevieve glared up at him persistently.  
With one last glare, Riddle whipped around and left the girls's lavatory without a sound.  
Genevieve stood rooted on the ground unmoving, her mind rushing with the conversation she just had with Lord Voldemort.

A/N: Thanks for reading again! And I'm sorry for the late update, again. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) In this chapter, Riddle changed his tactic and decided to be seductive and look nice. And also, Genevieve learned that Riddle killed his father in the past! Da-da-da-n! And the Halloween party. Poor Abraxas... Yaxley doesn't belong to him but to Canopus... :'( And one little announcement. The rating of Marvolo's Ring has been changed to T. This is because I thought the story was getting violent than I have planned (like Genevieve and Riddle scenes). I also rated T because of language. I was trying to write as less swear words as possible like saying 'mink' instead of 'b*tch'. But I found difficult to find words that can replace the swear words I wanted to use, so from now on there will be some swear words. Thanks for more than 1,100 views! Woo-hoo! Just in case if you guys wanted to know: 'tenebre inghiottono eternamente' means 'darkness engulf eternally' in Latin, and 'Scuola di magia' means 'School of wizardry' in Italian. :)


	15. Chapter 15:What is it that you want?

Chapter 14: What is it that you want?  
_Genevieve was sitting on the girl's lavatory floor, hugging her knees in deep thought. She was thinking back to the day when she first heard about her parents. That was back in her fourth grade. She was searching through books and books to find out about her parents, but her last name was never seen in any of those books. Next, she tried asking people whether they knew her parents. Teachers, student's parents or even some wizards she had never met before. Now that she thought about it, it was pretty stupid. In the muggle world, nobody knew about her parents, so she was desperate to find about them in the wizarding world. But the chance was slim, and she felt like she was walking blindfolded. She had no idea where she was heading, or where she was. That was until in her fourth grade, when she came to a conclusion that her only hope was Dumbledore, who was pretty much the only person she hadn't asked about her parents in Hogwarts._  
_So she stood in front of the Transfiguration teacher's office, and she gulped. Genevieve had been trying her best for years to avoid Dumbledore, but this was necessary._  
_So she knocked on the door, and came a calm voice, "Come in." So she cracked open the door and slipped herself in._  
_"Oh ! To what pleasure do I owe you your visit?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "Please. Sit down."_  
_So Genevieve sat down shallow on her seat, but she still avoided any eye contacts. She had visited Dumbledore's office only a few times, but his office was messy as usual. There were books and parchments scattered on the floor, as well as silver machinery that sometimes puffed out smoke and steam whistled like a train. In the corner of his room, on a bench sat a bright red bird. I think it was called a phoenix. She remembered reading about them in one of the library books._  
_"What brings you to my office?" Dumbledore's voice brought her gaze back on him again. His blue eyes seemed to be penetrating her and she had a feeling that he somehow already knew the answer._  
_"I wish to know if you have any idea who my parents were, sir," Genevieve said coldly._  
_Dumbledore stared right through her for quite some time and she was about to get up and leave when he spoke again._  
_"I was wondering when you would be coming to my office to ask that question... hmm, four years, I see?"_  
_"So you knew my parents, sir?"_  
_Dumbledore seemed to be assessing her for a while as he stared at her through narrowed eyes. It was as though he was assessing if she was worth to know the truth._  
_"No, I did not know your parents. But I heard some stories."_  
_Dumbledore continued after hesitation, "From what they have told me, I am assuming that your parents were both muggles."_  
_"What were they like, sir?" Genevieve asked heatedly. She had not expected this. If she ever knew Dumbledore knew a few things about her parents, she would had come straight to his office._  
_"I am afraid I do not know their appearances, ."_  
_"Could you tell me their names?"_  
_Genevieve couldn't resist herself from asking questions after questions. She didn't even notice that she have forgotten to add 'sir' towards the profes__sor._

_"Harold and Fiona."_

_"Are they still alive?"_  
_"I didn't hear any stories about your parents past these years, I'm afraid," Dumbledore sighed._  
_She gulped and stared at her transfiguration teacher in deep thoughts. Until, one question formed in her head._  
_"What did they think of me?"_  
_"I haven't asked that question directly, but I have heard that they were very troubled when you were taken away from them by the British Ministry. Your mother cried for days, worrying about you and so was your father. I believe they loved you a lot, more than anything in this world, perhaps. They have suffered as greatly as you after you were separated from your family. But still, you were very small. You barely started walking." Genevieve couldn't help but smile._  
So yes, according to what Dumbledore had told her, her parents were muggles. But they were generous, caring people. Someone to look up to. They proved that not all muggles were bad. She didn't know what Riddle's parents had done to him, but he was wrong. Muggles shouldn't be discriminated.

* * *

Riddle sat on one of the couches in Head's dorm, alone, gazing at the fire. Hopefully Bellamore will soon realize his kindness and turn herself in. He shouldn't have done that back then in the lavatory. He had shown his hate against the muggles, and that wouldn't have exactly helped him to gain Bellamore's trust. But now, he just felt so tired. And in a few seconds, his head dropped and ge dozed off into sleep.

_He was standing in the metallic room and he was surrounded by bunch of men. Two of which wore a white gown one would imagine a doctor or a scientist would wear. And the other two were armed, pointing a gun at him. The scene flashed, and he was standing in the very same room. But he was seeing things from different perspective. He was much taller, and his hands were wrinkled like it belonged to an old man. Tom felt like throwing up with the thought of him being old. Two of the man that looked like scientists were observing him closely. Pinching and tickling him. He was then put on a weighing machine__. "Peculiar," one fat scientist said, "it's exactly the same weight as you, Johnson." The scene changed again, and the next moment a barrel of a gun was being pointed at his head. He inhaled sharply in shock, and stared up at the gun fearfully, which was placed over his left eye. He could feel the cold metal of the gun. It was as though the Death's cold finger was touching him greedily. But the scene only lasted for fraction of a second, even though it seemed terribly long. He opened his eyes again, but this time he was in a different room. The room looked very old and rich, elegant in one word. In the corner of his eyes, he could see a big oil- painting that hang on the wall. A horribly ugly, little man, wearing a silver wig, stared down at him as though in distaste. And next to the portrait, stood the former British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald looking worried and afraid. Another man, Ludovich Gregson, the Prime Minister of Magic stood defiantly, looking towards him. But what surprised him the most, or bewildered him the most was Albus Dumbledore. He was standing in front of him, very close to him. Dumbledore was observing him quietly. His blue eyes met his grey ones. Or shall he say... purple? Since these dreams must have been one of Bellamore's. Or... was it a dream...? It was more of a flashback to the past that wasn't his. He was sitting on a chair, so he tried getting up. He wanted to get away from this old man as quickly as possible. But he noticed impossible to move his arms or legs. He was tied onto a chair! He swore under his breath. The old coot let out a deep sigh. Suddenly Tom could see an extremely sad expression took over his eyes. Or maybe it was just an acting the old man always did. But soon again, determination was all over his face. The scene changed again, and Tom was suddenly overwhelmed by massive pain in his core. It was as though a knife was being stabbed in his heart continuously. He hissed and growled in agony. The British Prime Minister gasped in horror. Dumbledore still had his wand pointed at him, and a look of shock and realisation dawned him, looking innocent. He was going to kill that man. Now not only his heart, but now also his wrist. His right wrist. It was burning pain and his wrist seemed to be melting. He could hear somebody muttering in panicky way and somebody replied in deep voice, but he couldn't make out any words. The voices were drifting away, until he lost conscious._

His head shot up, and he gasped for air. As realisation took in, he looked around and noticed he was still in the couch of the Head's dorm. Looking out of the window, he was able to tell that it was already midnight, and the fire was extinguished far long time ago. He let his head drop back as he thought back to his flashbacks. Exitium Reverie was helping him a lot. It was offering so many information about the girl, he didn't even have to ask her. Although, it still didn't make sense, some things were getting clearer. Bellamore was trapped in this place when she was young under force... maybe for investigation. And she was cursed. He was definitely sure about that.  
In fact, she was cursed by Dumbledore. He had to thank the Exitium Reverie for offering so many information about her. To his wonder, the flashbacks were becoming more often. And this time, he was seeing things from Bellamore's point, and he did feel pain. But what worried him the most was that, he wasn't sure how much Bellamore knew about him. He was very much fond of discovering Bellamore's secrets, but he had to stop this, this... bond that was in between them of seeing each other's past.  
Meanwhile, Genevieve slept in her dorm with the other Slytherin dorm mates snoring around them. She was having a bad sleep, as she changed her position again. _She was walking the streets in London again. She was much shorter, assuming she was very young in age as well. But this time, it wasn't raining, nor was she running away from somebody. This time, she was with a few other children and an old woman, which she noticed as a younger version of . She was holding two of the children's hands as she looked up to her. And others followed behind. Subconsciously, she bumped into a blonde braided girl next to her who was chatting with her friend non-stop. The girl whipped around and gasped. " ! Tom pushed me! It really hurts!" the girl screamed, pointing her finger at Genevieve-, or rather, young Tom Riddle. So she was looking at things from Riddle's eyes! "Be nice to your friends, Tom," mumbled tediously and sighed, "Come along, children, we are almost at the park."_  
_The blonde braided girl turned around to look at Riddle fearfully, "Yeah, Tom. Stay away from me, you are a freak," she whispered._  
_A few moments of walking, they came into a park with few swings and slides. Most of the autumn leaves have fallen, and they covered the ground brown._  
_"Go on, have fun," announced to everyone, and they ran off. Riddle lazily walked away from them, and started walking towards the bush at the edge of the park. didn't even seem to notice him as she stared worriedly at the children on the swings. Riddle ran to the bush and absent-mindedly gazed at the people crossing streets in hurry. It was a normal London morning. People heading to their offices, some running to catch the bus, some glancing at their watch. But then there were shoutings that disrupted the peaceful, but busy morning. Riddle's eyes searched through the alleys for the owners of the voices, and so did many people. There were two men, one shouting in a language Riddle did not know. But another was English, "We must cancel some of the Treaties!" he was shouting. But Riddle couldn't understand the word he was talking about. It wasn't the words that caught his attention. But it was the gun the one was holding in his hand. One man who was speaking English, raised his hand and a loud bang echoed through the streets._  
Genevieve was woken up by a hand poking her. She forced her eyes open, and found Agatha Rookwood eyeing her worriedly.  
"Are you okay? You look... all sweaty," Agatha wrinkled her nose as though in disgust, which didn't make Genevieve feel any better.  
"Anyway, your friends were waiting upstairs in the common room. But they told me to tell you that they will be waiting you in the Great Hall," Rookwood pointed in the direction of the door which led to the stairs.  
"Thanks," Genevieve mumbled and walked up to the bathroom.  
"Oh!" Agatha's squeak of excitement made her jump.  
"What is it?" Genevieve turned around, exasperated.  
The girl giggled, and gave her a meaningful look, "You were lying to me last night, weren't you?"  
Genevieve stayed silent for a while, trying to recall last night. But she couldn't remember telling her any lies.  
"You do like Riddle, don't you?" Rookwood finally said, seeing the puzzled look of Genevieve.  
"What? What makes you think that?" Genevieve almost screamed.  
Rookwood stared at her in surprise for a few seconds. "But I heard you and Riddle went into the bathroom together when everyone were dancing crazily in the Hall."  
Genevieve didn't know how to respond to such nonsense. She opened and closed her mouth several times.  
"I told you yesterday. I never liked Riddle, and I never will," Genevieve finally stated, strode to the bathroom and took a quick shower. And ten minutes later, she was on her way, running to the Great Hall. The shower had allowed her to refresh herself and now she was able to think back to the memory she just dreamed of. Or, maybe it even wasn't a memory. Maybe it was just a dream, something she had made up of. But she couldn't help thinking that this was part of Riddle's memory, like the others she had seen before. Exitium Reverie explains this. Assuming that Riddle had experienced those things, Riddle had a nasty childhood. His friends calling him a freak, not even caring about him, and seeing crazy men firing a gun in the public at such a young age. From what she could tell about his height, he was still very small, or maybe it was just that he was really short.  
She reached the door to the Great Hall, so she opened it and searched for her friends. Abraxas waved at her, so she walked up to them. However, Genevieve noticed many girls glaring in her direction, and some of them even wrinkled their nose in hate. What did she do wrong? Was it her hair?  
"Good morning," Genevieve slumped down next to Abraxas, who smiled at her politely. Strangely enough, Canopus had his head on the table, and his arms were spread out as though he had fainted. On the other side, Alphard was staring at the air dreamily, half smiling.  
"Mornin' Genevieve," Canopus grumbled but didn't move.  
"What happened to him?" Genevieve whispered to Abraxas who was observing Canopus closely, holding the spoon of oatmeal halfway to his mouth.  
"I was just about to ask that," he whispered back. "What happened to you?" Abraxas asked.  
"I don't know... I have a headache, and, I just wanna go back to sleep...," Canopus grumbled again.  
Abraxas rolled his eyes, and sighed exasperated "Are you having a hangover!? For merlin's sake, Canopus, I told you you were drinking too much last night!" Abraxas raised his hands and dropped them on the table.  
Canopus raised his head, "I'm having a hangover? That's awesome! I'm an adult. I always wanted to know what hangover felt like... It feels horrible..." Canopus said in sparkling eyes. Although Genevieve could see the eyes were bloodshot and dull.  
Abraxas rolled his eyes again, and noticed Alphard, sitting on a chair across him, not reaching for any food, staring into the air and smiling.  
"Wha-what happened to him?" Abraxas met his eyes with Genevieve's worriedly, and asked Canopus in a low voice jerking his chin to Avery, shocked by the sight.  
"Oh, he can't forget about the girl he talked and danced with last night," Canopus answered in a matter-of-fact way, "something Pinkstone..."  
"Fifi Pinkstone..." Alphard said in a dreamy voice.  
"Yes, Fifi, that's her name. He even had a dream about her! But it's okay. This is one of the common symptoms for falling in love. Day-dreaming. He'll get over this symptom in a few days."  
"You know what we did last night?" Alphard cut across Canopus, "She was a fan of Wimbourne Wasps. And she looked so pretty in those Quidditch uniforms."  
"I'm glad you found your true love, Alphard," Genevieve mumbled sarcastically.  
"Thanks, Genevieve. I knew you'll understand," Alphard smiled gracefully.  
"For your relationship with Fifi Pinkstone," Genevieve raised her goblet of orange juice, but then her goblet broke into pieces, and shattered glass flew in every direction above the table. And the next moment, Genevieve was sitting on the chair, dripping orange juice from her hair and nose. A laughter occurred throughout the Great Hall, and Genevieve's cheek turned bright pink from embarrassment and irritation. Abraxas, who was unfortunately sitting next to her had to take cover from flying orange juice, but his uniform also got wet and orange stain were all over the white Oxford shirt.  
"Blood!" Alphard yelped, looking frightened. Following his eyes, Genevieve noticed many if glass has cut her hand, and blood was flowing freely out from her wounds.  
"Troll those flobberworm Ravenclaws," Canopus swore and glared darkly in the direction of Ravenclaw table. Genevieve turned around just in time to see a Ravenclaw girl with blonde pigtails putting away her wand, who was still giggling but noticing her stare, she snickered darkly at her.  
"Now if you will excuse me," Canopus stood up while mumbling, and before they had a chance to ask him what he was doing, he left the Slytherin table. The three Slytherins stared at their friend in wonder, but in Abraxas' case, more of anxiety of what embarrassing things Canopus was going to do from now. Canopus walked over to the Ravenclaw who has just hurled her a Shattering charm.  
The Great Hall's laughter and chattering died as everyone's attention poured into the two's conversation to hear every words they say, "Excuse my interruption, ladies. Genevieve, sitting over there, soaking from head to toe with orange juice and bleeding. Well, that's my friend. In fact, she's one of my closest friends. Please be careful next time, I don't want ANYONE practising and sending charms in the wrong direction," Canopus spoke gently, but somehow threatening in a way. The Ravenclaw couldn't say a thing, so Canopus returned to his seat calmly.  
"I know her from Quidditch team," Canopus explained as he sat down, and excited whispers grew in the Great Hall once again, "She's Demelza Black, Walvurga's twin sister? She has been having a huge crush on Riddle." Genevieve raised an eyebrow. Why does so many girls have to think that she is in a romantic situation with Riddle?  
"I know right!?" Canopus exclaimed and raised his hands in exasperation, "Why can't she like me instead of him?"  
Abraxas banged his still orange-juice-wet head on the table.  
Alphard started explaining, while Canopus listened intently, "I think many girls like both you and Riddle, so they don't want you to have any girlfriends. But you are flirty and seductive to all the girls, so I think they're all happy. Whereas Riddle-...," Alphard once again noticed the still-flowing trickles of blood from Genevieve's hands, "Shouldn't we be stopping Genevieve's blood?"  
"Oh yes!" Abraxas jumped up on his seat, "Wait a second Genevieve, you'll be healed in a minute. Let me go and take my injuries and cuts oil in the dorm," as he stood up from his seat.  
"I believe that wouldn't be necessary, Abraxas," a cold voice spoke up behind her, and all four froze to the spot. The first one to move was Abraxas, who turned around in his seat to stare up at Tom Riddle. Genevieve turned around in her seat as well, and found Tom Riddle staring down at her unemotionally, but now that their eyes met, an eyebrow rose and his lips slightly curled into a smirk.  
"Riddle,... My Lord. I apologise for my interruption, Genevieve is already bleeding. I am fully aware that I have no right to ask, but please, I beg you to not hurt her furthermore," Abraxas spoke up but didn't dare to look up at his master.  
"Who said I was going to hurt her?" Riddle smirked as he still stared down at her, but then slid in between herself and Abraxas on the seats. Abraxas raised his brows as he stared at Riddle's back. Genevieve stared at Riddle, now sitting next to her, take out a plain white handkerchief. He gazed at her bleeding hands but soon looked up to her face, and took a strip of her hair to place it behind her ear. He wiped the orange juice clean from her face with his handkerchief. Then he reached out for her hand, and held it with his fingertips as though even touching could break her finger bones. Abraxas took a sharp breath when Riddle pulled out his hand, and rested its tip on her fingers. Then an orange-coloured mist started to appear from the wand which surrounded her hand completely. It was tickling and warm, and pieces of broken glasses started to pull out from her cuts as her wounds started to shrink until it disappeared completely. Genevieve stared at her flawless skin in an astonishment with wide eyes. Did Riddle just make up that spell? She had often tried, but never succeeded in doing so. Riddle did the same spell on her another spell, and soon both of her hands looked as though it never even had a scratch.  
"Thank you, My Lord," Genevieve mumbled in surprise that he actually healed her, and that he made up a spell this instant. Looking pleased with her reaction, Riddle smirked.  
"Riddle. Call me Riddle," Tom flashed a charming smile. Genevieve felt a shiver run in her spine.  
"Thank you, Ri-, Riddle," Genevieve narrowed her eyes. Was Riddle really doing this for her good? Or was it only to persuade her to trust him?  
Riddle nodded, "You can keep the handkerchief, just in case somebody spills another orange juice over you," and left the table in the direction of the Great Hall's exit.  
"What was that!?" Canopus whispered, looking confused. Genevieve just shrugged her shoulders since she also, had no idea what was happening.  
"Have Riddle ever acted like this to you?" Abraxas furrowed his brows.  
"Well, recently. He has been saying things like he can help me."  
"I bet he's up to something. He always do those things when he wants something from others," Canopus wrinkled his nose in disgust, "although, it's very Slytherin," he sneered.  
"I agree too. I think he decided that threatening you, like he does to us, won't make you speak. So he's now seeing you as a girl, not his slave. But I think that's a good thing. That means Riddle is less likely to attack her, obviously because he wants to gain trust from you. But I'm warning you, Genevieve. Don't trust Riddle, and don't tell anything to him. As soon as he gets what he wants, he will start treating you like a servant again," Abraxas pointed out clearly.  
"Smart smart Abe. What shall we ever do without you," Canopus shook his head, and Abraxas slightly blushed.  
"I was wondering, why did they send you a shattering charm at you, Genevieve?" Alphard asked, confused after a while on their way out of the Great Hall.  
"Oh my Merlin! Al!" Canopus exclaimed, "Haven't I explained it already? Demelza Black has a crush on Riddle!"  
"So, what?"  
"Don't tell me you haven't heard any of the rumours," Abraxas raised his brows in shock. Alphard raised his brows at her in question.  
"There has been this really stupid rumour going out, that I am going out with Riddle," Genevieve rolled her eyes.  
"What!? That's preposterous!" Alphard screamed.  
"I know," Genevieve grumbled. The rest of the day, Canopus and Alphard spent their time in the Quidditch field, since they had a game against the Gryffindors next week. Abraxas unwillingly agreed to go for a ride on a broomstick with them. On the other hand, Genevieve decided to visit the library again for more about Exitium Reverie. The thought of Riddle being able to see her memories were quite disturbing. So she ran to the library, the book of 'The Dark Arts and its Development' in her hand to be returned to the library. She had gone through all the pages, but he still couldn't find any reference to what will happen when two wizards use the curse to each other at the same time. As she reached the entrance o the library, she checked on Mister Westmint, who was asleep as usual under his Daily Prophet. So she passed shelves after shelves to the Restricted Section, and slipped inside. Returning the book on the shelf, she looked around curiously at the fascinating books. The morning light shone from the window above, and she could see golden dust flying in the light. And all she could hear was the quiet breathing of Mister Westmint sleeping. She was about to take 'Blood and Its Use for the Darkest Arts' in curiosity, when another title of a book came in. 'The Effect of The Dark Arts on Memories'.So she pulled out the book excitedly and skimmed through the table of contents. Introductory... Definition of the Dark Arts... Curses to Harm Memories...Memories Used in Curses... Memory Accidents Caused by Curses. Genevieve knew this was A perfect book, so she excitedly ran out of the Restricted Section to a studying desk that was situated between each shelves. She flipped through many pages to 'Memories used in Curses'.  
Compared to when curses are used to destroy its victim's memories as stated in the previous chapter (see page 126), some curses use victim's own memories against him. There are three stages to most of the curses and the dementor's kiss. The first stage is their Agony Session. This is when the curse if inflicted on its victim. It is done by reminding of the bad memories, or altering their happy memory into a horrible one as well with the pain that comes with it. In the Agony Session, the victim is most likely to suffer and scream. However if the curse is inflicted for certain amount of time (this differs according to the curse the subject has used,) the object will suffer the trauma eternally. This is because they fall into an unconscious laps of coma, and continue to rewind the trauma eternally even after the curse was casted on the victim. These causes the victim to be depressed and seek no hope in life. Thus the victim becomes mentally ill. For the rest of their lives, they will have no reaction to anything, except some times when they scream in fear. This is known as the Coma Session. Some will continue watching the trauma until they die in agony, or some beg or scream to be killed. This is the last stage, the Death Stage. They are either killed by others after their begging, or they die from their agony and stress in elderly.  
The dementors and the curse Exitium Votum have similar effects, and they follow three stages. However, some curses, such as Exitium Reverie does the three stages in much quicker way (see page 244).  
So Genevieve flipped to page 244, and was about to start reading its title when a book dropped by her on the table with a loud bang. Wondering, Genevieve picked it up an looked up to see where it had fallen from. But then, another book started to fall from the shelf. In an attempt to stop, Genevieve pushed back the book to its place. But then several more books started to fall. She didn't even have a time to pull out her wand, so she crouched on the floor and covered her head, hoping that it will only be a few books that's falling over her. Indeed, it was only a few books that's fallen over her head. So she looked up, but then was taken aback by the shelf that was slowly leaning over her with a creak. Whatever that was happening to her, this one was going to be painful. She was sure she will have to spend some nights in the hospital wing. So her hand shakily wandered to her wand, but it was all too late. The books on top shelves started to slide and fall towards her.  
But then, the books stopped falling. They were floating in the midair. The shelves too, stopped leaning over, but instead, was slowly put back to its place with a long creak. Genevieve whipped her head around, expecting to see Mister Westmint. Instead, it was Tom Riddle. He flicked his wand, and the books floating in the midair levitated back to its place on their own.  
"Ariana Flume!" Tom Riddle grumbled, and a girl with red-head pony tail uncomfortably appeared around the corner of the bookshelf that was about to fall.  
"Yes, Tom?" she, Ariana asked as she fidgeted with her hair strand.  
"I didn't expect you, of all people, to be doing something like this. I must say, 20 points from Gryffindor," Riddle announced, "And I never want to see you trying to harm other students."  
Ariana quickly glared Genevieve before she left the library, almost running away. Riddle's eyes followed her until she disappeared around the corner. Then his eyes came to rest on her. Silently Tom held out his hand to her, smirking. So reluctantly, Genevieve took his hand and halted herself up with his help, "Thanks, Riddle," she mumbled.  
"Yes. You probably would have broken your neck if I haven't helped you," seeing that his job was done, Riddle turned around and already started to walk away. So Genevieve ran after him and caught up with his pace, "But tell me, Riddle. Why are you helping me?"  
Riddle slightly frowned and turned around to face her, "One. I'm a head boy, it's my job to help students who are in need of help. Two, I like you," Riddle threw a dazzling smile.  
Genevieve inhaled deeply.  
"No, you don't. You are just trying to gain my trust so that you can ask me any questions and I'll answer it like a good girl."  
"What makes you think that I don't like you?" Riddle raised his brows and smirked.  
"Because, Riddle, you have sent curses at me only a few weeks ago!"  
"Well, I changed my mind," Riddle reached another shelf and started skimming through the bindings of books.  
"How can I tell if you have really changed your mind?" Genevieve asked worriedly.  
Riddle quickly glanced at her, and when he spoke again, for the first time that day, his playful smirk was gone. "I am a very possessive person, Bellamore. That means I always have something I really want to get, and I never give up until I get it," he turned his back on her and pulled out a book with a sigh, "So until I get it, I'll give up anything for it. And once I get it, I never try to harm it."  
Riddle and Genevieve remained silent for a while, until Genevieve opened her mouth once again. "What is it that you want now, Riddle?"  
After a while of thinking he answered, "Revenge," and a vile smile broke up on his lips and his eyes seemed to glisten in the warm morning sunlight. And with a book in his hand, he walked away, leaving her standing in mild shock.

A/N: Thank you for reading my next chapter (you guys are great)! And sorry it took long to update... again. I had an exam week, but now I'm in summer vacation so that means I can concentrate more on my story! (yay~). In this story, there are two flashbacks, Genevieve's and Tom's. We now know Genevieve's parents, right? And we peeked a bit of Tom's memory when he was still small. And this time, Canopus also got his first hangover, lol. I hope you liked the new chapter, and I'll post the next one asap! And also... thank you for more than 1500 views! It's great! And thank you **MockingjayStew** for favouriting my story!


	16. Chapter 16: Rowel's Books Since 1876

chapter 15: Rowel's Books ~Since 1876~

Genevieve opened to page 244 of 'The Effect of The Dark Arts on Memories' on one of the couches back in the Slytherin's common room.  
_Exitium Reverie is a curse to make a victim suffer from their own memories as stated in the previous chapter. Compared to the other curses, Exitium Reverie finishes the three stages very quickly. The other curses takes almost the victim's entire life to complete the three stages, whereas Exitium Reverie takes only a minute to complete them. During the process of three stages, Exitium Reverie also inflict pain in the head. The similar method as Legilimency is used to cause pain. Professional Legiliment cause pain to their victims by violently going through victim's memories and thoughts. In Exitium Reverie's case, the curse automatically and violently attacks one's memories without the caster's commands._

Genevieve skipped the History and Uses of Exitium Reverie, and went onto Memory Accidents Caused by Curses.

_ Memory Accidents caused by curses are quite rare and serious. Many ends up being sent to hospital and it is likely that they will never come out of hospitals. Such examples of conscience are exchanging of memories between two wizards, or worse case, death. The following passage shows a few examples of conscience after a Memory Accident._  
_ ..._

_ Exitium Reverie_

_ Memory Accidents caused by this curse are rare, and there are only a few cases found with serious Memory Accidents. However, when using Exitium Reverie, Memory Reverse may occur between two wizards. This Memory Accident is caused by two wands casting a same spell at each other. There are no defence spell against Exitium Reverie, so many wizards attempt to cancel the other's curse by casting the same Exitium Reverie. And in most cases, only one curse is deflected depending on the caster's magic strength, and another that remained will be hurled at its victim who's magic had been broken by the stronger wizard. However in rare cases, neither of the curses are deflected nor hurled. Instead the two red curses are connected in the middle of two wands. There are several theories stating how this happens. Finthos Fitchley, a professional researcher in Exitium Reverie suggests the reason is because of equality in both of the caster's magic strength. However, this theory is not yet proven, as well as other theories. Not many are known about the Memory Reverse of Exitium Reverie. But it is proven that in all cases, instead of making the victim suffer from their own memories, the two wizards will see each other's memories and thoughts. Moreover, Memory Reverse is uncontrollable, and one can see any random memories of the other at random times. It is also said that it sometimes cause pain in parts of body. Fitchley believes this is because when the two curses are connected, it creates an invisible bond between the two wizards. And using the bond as a channel, the memories, feelings and thoughts are exchanged freely between the two. A way to cure the Memory Reverse, or a way to break the bond between two in Fitchley's words, are still unclear. And some also believes that when bond existing between wizards for decades, not only memories and thoughts, but even personalities gets transferred to another. And in the end, souls of two wizards are exchanged leaving its body behind. And lastly that the separation of soul and body will tear the soul apart and destroys the wizard. However Professor Dumply Kirk disagrees that the bond formed from Memory Reverse is only able to exchange parts of memories and feelings. And that it cannot flow something heavy as characteristics._

Genevieve closed the book with a thud and massaged her temple. All the Slytherins have already left for bed, and she was the only one in the common room by the green fire. This was worse than she had expected. According to Fitchley, within decades, Riddle and her souls get exchanged and gets destroyed.  
"Genevieve?" Genevieve jumped when a voice came behind her. She wipped around, and found Riddle looking down at her.  
"Ri-Riddle? What are you doing here?"  
Riddle pointed to the book she was holding with his chin, "I want to read that book too."  
"And that's the only reason you came here?"  
"I didn't come here to attack you. I just want the book," Riddle sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I want to put an end to this rubbish. I don't want you seeing my memories anymore."  
"I know that you have seen when I killed my muggle father. But I don't know what you have seen before or after that, nor do I want to know. You also want to finish this, and that's why you are searching about Exitium Reverie. So let's just forget that this ever happened, and put an end to this, together," Riddle finished.  
Genevieve reluctantly handed him the book.  
"Right. Now we can work together to finish this, right? So you can trust me," Riddle threw a gentle smile and was about to leave when Bellamore called him back.  
"I'm not doing this because I trust you. I know what you are, Riddle," the voice was cold and somehow far away.  
Riddle turned around to face her. And was shocked to see Bellamore standing up and frowning at him, almost even in an accusing way.  
Riddle was only able to mumble. "I know," and left the Slytherin common room as he felt the glare of Bellamore on his back.

The cobblestone wall closed behind Riddle, and Riddle leaned back. This wasn't how it meant to be. He had bern thinking his plan was all going well. That he was starting to charm Bellamore. But he wasn't even close to making Bellamore talk. After all that effort he has devoted, Bellamore wasn't coming to like him! Bellamore DIDN'T FANCY HIM. This has never happened before, not even once in Hogwarts. He had been rejected by a female. This had never happened after he left the orphanage and came to Hogwarts. He had been rejected, AGAIN like back before in the orphanage. He was not going to let this happen again. He was not going to let anybody reject him again, or call him a freak, or avoid him. He was going to do ANYTHING to make Bellamore accept him and submit herself as his property. Tom ran a hand through his hair and started walking to the Head's Dorm. The corridor was already dark, but he noticed a person coming towards him. It was a 4th grade student, one of the stupid Gryffindors. So as he passed the boy, Tom grabbed him, and dragged him into a nearby empty classroom. Throwing him inside, he closed the door and put a silencing charm. When he turned around, the boy already had his wand out, but it was clear he was scared as he was trembling with fear. Tom snickered and elegantly pulled out his wand, and flicked so that the other's wand flew out of sight. Tom slowly raised his wand at him.  
"What are you doing?" the boy's voice trembled, "You are a Head Boy! I'm gonna tell Dippet and Professor Dumbledore!"  
Tom smirked, and his eyes glinted in red as dark magic that had been suppressed started to crackle around him. The wooden table nearby bursted in fire. "To hell with Dippet and fuck Dumbledore."  
The boy's mouth dropped in shock, but before he had a chance to reply, Tom mumbled "Crucio," and finally released his dark magic through out his wand.  
The boy screamed, and dropped to the ground.  
After a few seconds, Tom raised his wand and the boy's scream ended, although his body still twitched.  
"Please, stop... I'll do anything," the boy sobbed.  
Tom was once again caught with a wonderful feeling whenever he harmed people. This feeling of superiority.  
"Tell me what were you doing in this mid night? You are supposed to be in your bed!" and he whipped his wand so that the boy was flown into the air, and his body collided with the wall. The boy groaned.  
"It was such an unfortunate for you to be wondering around at this time. You ended up meeting Lord Voldemort when he was in a bad mood," Tom sneered, and threw another Cruciatus Curse at the boy. Seeing the boy in agony, Tom laughed and laughed. He laughed until tears were dropping from his eyes and he was having a stomach ache. So he ended the curse. The boy's face was tear-stained, and his face was still contorted into pain. He had bruises on several parts of body, and he was too tired to do anything although his body still twitched. So he let Tom move his body around until he was sitting on the floor leaning onto the wall, facing up at Riddle. The red sheen in his eyes were gone and he gave a beaming smile to the boy, and he grabbed the boy's wrist in a reassuring way as he crouched beside him.  
"You WOULDN'T try telling anybody about this, would you?" Tom's kind smile turned to an evil sneer, and his grip on the boy's wrist tightened.  
The boy nodded in fear. But that didn't stop Tom from loosening his grip, instead, it was tightened and tightened, until...  
CRACK.  
The boy screamed again in agony. And now, the boy's wrist was twisted in an unnatural way.  
"Then I'll have to kill you... That would be suicidal, am I right?" Tom released his wrist, grabbed the boy by his arm and hoisted up aggressively. The boy sobbed and groaned in pain and was dragged out of the classroom in the direction of the Hospital Wing.  
The boy still stumbled from the Cruciatus Curse. Tom knocked the door to the Infirmary, and Madam Mason poked her head out.  
"My dear, what happened?"  
"Madam, he tripped over the stairs. I tried to help, but before I could catch him, he fell off. I think he broke his wrist and got a few bruises," Tom was interrupted by a short scream of Madam Mason.  
"Oh my dear! How unfortunate! Come along, my dear, let me take you to the bed..." and the boy was dragged to the bed as he shook violently and stumbled.  
Madam Mason turned around, "Thank you, Tom. It was very generous of you to bring him here. As Headmaster Dippet told me, you are a wonderful student," and she beamed at him for a while before she moved onto the healing.  
"Is he going to be alright?" Tom furrowed his brows in concern, as he stared at the boy. Ha. The old woman would never think of Tom now when accusing somebody if she ever came across an idea that somebody intently harmed the boy. The boy, who tried not to look in his way, whimpered.  
"Don't worry, my dear. He will be fine," and Madam Mason disappeared behind the curtain to get more healing supplies.  
Tom threw one last glare at the boy, and elegantly left the Hospital Wing as the boy stared at him in fear. Tom looking indifferent and innocent as ever.

* * *

Genevieve woke up next morning, and lazily got herself up from bed as she started preparing for Monday's class. Double Potions... She took a quick shower, and went up the stairs to the common room, where she found Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard waiting for her.  
As she appeared by the stairs, Canopus notied her and waved happily at her. Smiling, Genevieve skipped towards them and together left to the Great Hall.

They sat in the corner together on the Slytherin. Until Canopus suddenly stood up, looking shocked, which ended up in knocking over some of the goblets on the table and spilling pumpkin juices all over it.

"What happened?" Abraxas looked surprised as well, as he stared up at Canopus with wide eyes.  
Canopus clutched his hair, and looked down at them in panic. "I forgot to do my potions essay!"  
Abraxas sighed, and picking up a napkin, started to wipe the pumpkin juices. "You haven't even written a word?"  
"No, I haven't," exasperated, Canopus sat down since he was starting to gain attention from the other Slytherins.  
"I finished all my essays yesterday," Alphard said happily.  
Canopus glared at him, "Yes. But your answers are always wrong."  
Alphard must have felt a little sorry for him, since he mumbled, "Slughorn is a generous professor. He'll let you off this time."  
"But, no! He won't! Because this is the second time I forgot it!" Canopus wailed.  
"Oh oohhhhhh..." Alphard muttered.  
"Just tell him you forgot it. We'll come with you," Genevieve said as she took a glass, poured herself some pumpkin juice and sipped from it. Canopus nodded.

Genevieve was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of nausea. As Abraxas explained to Canopus how important it is to finish all of the homework before due date, Genevieve's sickness worsened and worsened.  
So she stood up, and started running to the Great Hall exit while holding her mouth shut.  
"Hey, Genevieve! What happened?" she heard Abraxas call after her, but she didn't have enough time or courage to turn around and open her mouth to reply. Any moment and she could throw up.  
So she dashed and turned many corners to the closest lavatory. Genvieve gasped for breath as she leaned against the wall. She couldn't understand. How did she get herself this sick so suddenly? Was it the food she ate?  
"I would go straight to the infirmary, if I were you."  
Genevieve whipped around in surprise, and found Tom Riddle, staring down at her.  
"I saw Thalaia Bowen slipping a Vomiting Potion into your goblet when all of you were staring up at Lestrange," Tom slightly arched his eyebrows in an amusement.  
Genevieve groaned as she turned away, intending to ignore him and hoping that if she just ignored, he would go away. She wasn't really in a mood of talking right now. However, that didn't stop the infamous Riddle from talking to her.  
"I'll take you to the Infirmary. But I should use stunning curse on you. You can't vomit while you are unconscious," Riddle came closer to her.  
Genevieve looked up at him in wide eyes, shook her head and groaned in objection while she still had her hands clasped tightly over her mouth. However it has caused her to get even more sick and dizzy, so she groaned once again and crouched by the bathroom door.  
Riddle crouched beside her as well and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Genevieve, you are getting greener and greener by the second, you are even starting to look like a frog," Genevieve raised her head and glared up at him. "You have to trust me, Genevieve. I will only cast a stunning curse, and I will bring you straight to the Infirmary. And as soon as Madam Mason tells me, I will ennervate you, okay? Lastly, this is only done for a purpose of bringing you to the Infirmary safely,... and in a less dirty way."

Genvieve couldn't care less of his rude words, her head was spinning and Riddle's voice was drifting away. Slowly Genevieve fainted, and quietly and slowly leaned her head into his chest, as though drifting into a sleep. Tom picked the unconscious Genevieve from the floor and carried her to the Infirmary, quite surprised at being so physically close to Bellamore.

* * *

It was almost on Friday afternoon when Genevieve woke up. The clock next to her that it was now 3:34. Great, she just missed Ancient Runes Class. However, she of course did not know that that day was Friday and not Monday.

The Infirmary was quiet and she was an only student in the Infirmary, with an exception of a boy sleeping few beds away from her. Madam Mason was nowhere to be seen. Genevieve noticed with delight that all of the sickness was gone. She looked around her, and with a smile, noticed flowers in the vase near her bed. Next to the flower vases were many get-well cards. She took one of them, and she noticed from his neat handwriting, that it was from Abraxas.

_-Genevieve,_  
_ What on merlin's beard happened? You suddenly ran out of the Great Hall, and you didn't show up for the Monday's class, or Tuesday's, Wednesday's and today's. We were so worried about you. Are you okay? Riddle told us that Bowen put Vomiting Potion in your pumpkin juice., quite a strong one. She got into one week detention for that. I hope everything's alright for you._  
_ Miss you tons,_  
_ Abraxas-_

With the card was a boxful of Exploding Bonbons.  
Genevieve was quite shocked that today was actually Friday, and that she missed five days of classes. She has a lot to catch up. Genevieve took another card with messy handwriting, that came with famous Quidditch magazine, "Oi, Bludger!".

_ -Hey Genevieve,_  
_ Are you all right? You looked bloody green and pale when I came here yesterday. And don't worry. I'll tell Jenkins that I'm gonna beat up anybody who tries poisoning my best friend. I hope you came come out of the Hospital Wing by Sunday. Sunday's our first quidditch against Gryffindors, and you have got to see us painting mud in those loser's faces. Teehee._  
_ Canopus_  
_ P.S. This is one of my favourite ones from Oi, Bludger. I hope this will entertain you when you're bored!-_

Genevieve took another card, which was from Alphard.

_- To Genevieve,_  
_ Are you okay? We are so worried about you! Oh, and I hope you like the flowers. I heard daisies can make people happy when they are feeling ill, or maybe it was a sunflower... I don't know. But I hope you will like it! Oh, and we were just talking that we hope you could come out on Sunday. You know why? Because it's Quidditch! We are playing against Gryffindors and remember that I'm a seeker and Canopus is a Chaser. Miss you a lot!_  
_ From Alphard-_

With Alphard's letter, there came boxes and boxes of Chocolate Frogs.  
The last card, was a simple parchment written with a few lines with neat cursive, and no name.

_ -I didn't know you were so heavy-_

Genevieve was only able to guess who this was from. However, near the parchment was a bundle of more parchments. And on top of it was another card with neat cursive.

_ -I know how you are obsessed with the classes, like me-_

The parchments were all notes from classes taken with neat handwriting.

As she read through the class notes, Madam Mason came out from the cupboards and screamed. "Oh, ! I am glad you have woken! That was quite a strong Vomiting Potion wasn't it? I mean, you have slept for five days, non-stop. But I suppose it's better than Mr. Connel over here. He fell off the stairs few days ago, and he is still shaking..."  
"Oh, and I see that you have received 's notes," Madam Mason said with a beaming smile, "He came here everyday for you to give you the notes. Such a fine man. As well as your three nice friends. You are lucky to have such nice friends, ."  
"Yes, I suppose so," Genevieve smiled to herself, "Madam Mason? When I can I leave the Infirmary?"  
"Oh, you may leave any time, my dear. As long as you are not feeling ill anymore," Madam Mason replied as she left a cup of potion by 's bedside. So Genevieve got off the bed with thank you cards in her arms, and saying a 'thank you' to Madam Mason, which she returned with a beaming smile again, left the Infirmary in the direction of Slytherin dorm.

When she entered the common room, first thing she felt was two arms tightly held around her neck.  
"Genevieve!" the person screamed, and finally released her. But soon stepped back, and mumbled "Ugh, um... excuse me," as he scratched his blonde hair. Although his sapphire blue eyes twinkled in happiness. It was Abraxas. "That was no good manners for... a lady," he said awkwardly.  
"Yeahhh, Abe. Give her a breath, she was about to choke," Canopus and Alphard appeared together, grinning, and gave her a friendly hug as well.  
Genevieve chuckled, "No, it's okay. It wasn't choking me, Abraxas."  
Abraxas gave a weak smile.  
Alphard grinned at her in delight, "We missed you a lot, Genevieve."  
"Thanks for the cards," Genevieve smiled.  
"Bah, it was nothing," Canopus waved his hand at her.  
"Now, come on. I'm starving, so let's go to the Great Hall for dinner," Alphard suggested. So she ran down the stairs quickly to leave the cards in her dorm, and then joined the three once again to the Great Hall.  
"Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you... we're having another Slug Club on Saturday...," Abraxas started conversationally as they all entered the Great Hall together.

* * *

The next day, Saturday morning was a Hogsmeade Day. So Genevieve, Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard all decided to pay a visit and have a swing of butterbeer. So by 11:00, they got off the carriage and strolled in the direction of One Broomstick. As the month entered November, the weather has suddenly become very cold, and that day the very first snow started to fall onto their heads. They reached the doors of One Broomstick, but Genevieve came to a halt.  
"You guys go ahead, I want to go to a bookstore" Genevieve called after them. Abraxas, looked slightly worried but still nodded and entered the One Broomstick with the others.

Genevieve now left the shop alone in the snow towards a street, intending to research further more about Exitium Reverie. The recent researches has already proven to her that Hogwarts Library would provide no further information on such dark arts as Exitium Reverie. Hogsmeade main streets were crowded with students, so Genevieve decided to go further away from the crowds. She guessed that bookstores containing books about dark magic were placed in areas students were unlikely to go. As she rounded a corner, she came to a street where she has never been before. There were no people to be seen, and most of the shops were closed and looked rundown. Genevieve approached the first shop that came into her sight. It was a small cafe with no customers, and next to it, was a boutique shop that seemed to be selling clothes with fashion style popular in 20 years ago. However, next to it, was an old bookstore, named "Rowel's Books ~Since 1876~". She was about to pull open the door when she read a sign,

~No wizards under 18 allowed without guardian's accompany  
Our books may contain subjects and magicks inappropriate for young children~

Genevieve sighed, and went into a dark passage beside the bookstore. Checking that nobody was looking, Genevieve quickly transformed herself into an elderly wizard with long brown beard. It didn't say you can't transform to look like an old person, and so far, she couldn't see any Age Line drawn around the shop. So she stepped out of the narrow passage, and once again placed her hand on the door knob to open the door, this time as an old wizard, and not a 17-year-old Hogwarts student. However, she was once again stopped by a voice calling her.

"Excuse me, sir," Genevieve turned around to see who has spoken, and widened her eyes in shock when she saw Tom Riddle standing in front of her.  
"What are you doing here?" Genevieve screamed, but her words didn't come out in her usual, girl's voice, but instead came out in low, croaked voice.  
Riddle raised an eyebrow and slightly smirked, "Is it wrong of me to stay here, sir?"  
"No,...," Genevieve stuttered for answer, "It's just that I don't see many young people around here. You should join your friends as well, they must be waiting for you in One Broomstick or wherever. Now go," and attempted to shoo him away with his hands.  
"No, sir. I actually wanted to ask for a person. Have you seen a girl about my age, with purple eyes?" Riddle's lips now turned into a smirk.  
"A girl?" Genevieve's hands absent-mindedly traveled to her hair, and started playing with it, looking nervous. However, noticing that that did not look at all like how elderly man would behave, quickly stopped.  
"I was chasing after her, but then she disappeared around that corner," now Riddle pointed at the narrow passage she had came out of, "But instead of the pretty, attractive girl I was chasing after, an ugly old wizard came out of it." Riddle smirked as his eyes twinkled, "Now, sir, could you please tell me where she went?"  
Genevieve narrowed her eyes at him and stepped away, as though trying to understand what he was playing at. Although her form was still a grandpa, when she spoke next, her voice has already changed back to normal, "What are you playing at, Riddle?"  
"I just wanted to ask you a favour, of course. I want to go into that shop as well. I want to research about Exitium Reverie, like you," Riddle sneered.

Genevieve groaned, and gestured him to go inside with her. She opened the door, and Riddle followed after her. The bookstore was very small, but still fascinating, and the warm air inside welcomed them. Genevieve smelled into the air of old papers and ink. The bookstore was filled with books stacked on the floor, and many of them almost reached up to their heads. There was a wooden counter, which was not occupied, in the far right corner. The stairs on the left side, which barely had space to move since they were also filled with stacked books, led up to the balcony. All the walls in the bookstore was covered with bookshelves, and a big window on the second floor was the only light source of the room. From the window, she could see snow falling on the outside windowsill.

Beside her, Riddle lit a light on his wand and strolled to the bookshelves by the stairs without a word. Genevieve approached the counter, and each step she took on the wooden floor, there was a thud. The only noise in the shop was an old grandfather clock in the corner that made the constant tick-tock-tick-tock. Genevieve skimmed through the pages of parchments that listed the book's titles, authors, published years, shelf numbers and prices.

"Riddle," Genevieve called, "There are lists of books in this shop."

Genevieve heard quick footsteps and sensed his presence as he looked over her shoulder. Genevieve flipped through the parchments and searched for any words related to memories, Exitium Reverie, or Finthos Fitchley. There were many books about dark arts that she will be interested to read, but she couldn't find any of the words. Riddle sighed as well, and massaged his bridge.

"I guess we have to search in another bookstore, then," Genevieve mumbled and Riddle nodded. However, Genevieve never came to notice that this time she included Riddle as well, as she has said 'we'.  
"May I ask what you are searching for, gentlemen?" a croaked voice echoed from the further in the shop. Tom and Genevieve raised their heads together, and searched for the origin of the voice.  
An old wrinkled wizard appeared by the door in far corner, "My apologies. No customers have visited my shops and lovely books for years now, so I haven't bwen expecting any customers today," Tom recalled the thick dusts on every books, floors and shelves.  
"I should have stayed in the counter instead of leaving such noble people," , which Genevieve assumed to be his name, mumbled and bowed.  
"Well, we, my son here, is searching about this certain dark curse," Genevieve took a step forward, and said with all her courage.  
"Oho. And what might that curse be, gentlemen?"  
Genevieve and Tom glanced at each other, and finally Riddle said, "Exitium Reverie, sir."  
"Oho!" screamed in delight, and he skimmed through the lists of parchments. Neither Tom or Genevieve dared to say that they have already checked the list.  
"Hm," grumbled, "No books on Exitium Reverie? That's impossible. This place's books are all dark magic. There should be at least one... Oh yes, I sold it to the cloaked guy. Hm. Shame."  
"Then, I guess we shall be leaving then," Riddle spoke up next to Genevieve, "Come on, father. We can look for other bookstores," and took her arm to exit the shop.  
"But please, gentlemen. I know a friend who is a professional in Exitium Reverie," seemed to be panicking a little now that they were going to leave.  
Riddle stopped dead in his track, hearing this and turned around as he narrowed his eyes at an old wizard, "You do?"  
"Yes, my noble gentleman. We could talk over butterbeers about how to make an appointment with him," the old man smiled.  
"Can I talk with my son about this?" Genevieve spoke quickly before Riddle could answer him.  
"Of course, my noble man. Please, do feel free to discuss," bowed, and disappeared behind the door.  
Checking that was gone, Riddle turned to her, his eyes sparkling in fascination, "Genevieve, we HAVE to talk to him."  
"... But what if he tricks us? What if he really doesn't have a friend and he just wants to take money from us?" Genevieve furrowed her brow and stared at him worriedly.  
"Don't worry. If he tricks us, I'll chase him to death," Riddle grinned. Genevieve couldn't comment, although she felt sad and disappointed with him. Although she already knew what kind of person he was, so it was more of reminding her what Lord Voldemort was like.  
Seeing that Genevieve didn't make any further effort to argue with him, Riddle called , and told him that they decided to ask him to introduce them to his friend.  
"That's a great decision you have made, sirs!" exclaimed happily, "Then how about five galleons for it?"  
Genevieve furrowed her brows, "For what?"  
"But, sir. I need some money to live on, and you aren't going to say you are going to give me nothing for introducing you sirs to my friend?"  
Genvieve groaned in frustration, and seeing that, Riddle suggested, "Yes. But five galleons is too much. It's even expensive than a book! I would rather buy a book then."  
"Hmm. Then maybe,... four galleons?"  
"I would say, three galleons. I am sure somebody as wealthy as you, and somebody as generous as you won't be too harsh on price," Riddle replied with a smirk.  
sighed with a grin, "three galleons it is. But could you perhaps buy an old man a firewhiskey?"

Genevieve nodded in agreement, so they all left the shop together and entered a coffee shop Genevieve had passed before. Coffee shop also, had no customers, and as they sat down, Genevieve found dust and spider webs in several places. Genevieve ordered two butterbeers and a firewhiskey, and soon started the conversation.

"So, my friend, his name is Francis. Francis Abblings, have you heard of him? No? Well, he used to live in Wicklow, in Ireland. And, he moved to London and opened a shop in Knocturn Alley." Mr. Rowle was forced to pause now as his firewhiskey and two butterbeers have arrived. Putting a strip of her hair behind her ear, as well as swinging her long beard back, Genevieve took a sip from her butterbeer. He took a swing of his firewhiskey and continued, "His shop," another swing, "was a bookstore." He took another swing. " 'T was a 'ookstore 'bout... darkkk magickkkk..."  
" 'xcuse me...," Mr. Rowle suddenly stood up and went in the direction of loo.  
"He gets drunk quite easily, doesn't he?" Genevieve wrinkled her nose in disgust.  
Riddle didn't comment, but instead kept staring at her as though seeing an alien. "No. I don't care how fast he gets drunk. What I'm worried about is that you are acting too girlie for a grandpa! Stop swinging your beard back, or putting your hair behind your ear. I know that girls do that often, and they aren't used to having beards. But you have no idea how weird you look... It's just... wrong," Riddle shook his head.  
And once again noticing at her crossed legs, "And for merlin's sake, stop crossing your legs! Men don't do that. They open their legs, like this. Wider. Even wider. Yeah, like that. Just try acting like you are a freaking Dumbledore,... or Dippet," Riddle massaged his temples.  
"Why did you even become a grandpa... Just become a mid-aged woman or something,..." Riddle mumbled to himself. Genevieve opened her mouth to argue with him, but had to close her mouth as now was back.  
" 'nd... where wuz I...? Oh yeah, he also 'ccepts cus'mers wiz q'estions about 'emmm..." here took another sip. "He takes 'bout ten galliiii... galliiions for it."  
Riddle and Genevieve glanced at each other. 10 galleons! 10 galleons were too much to afford.  
"That is quite expensive," Genevieve muttered.  
"Bah, don' worrry... 'ere will 'ake care of that," and he swung his arm across her shoulder, "Now, 'rink wiz me, ol' ma'!"  
Genevieve formed a twisted smile on her lips, and Tom somehow felt hot fury burning inside of him. Although she looked like a grandpa, Riddle felt an urge to push Rowle off the chair, and tell him to stay away from Bellamore. She was his prise, and she was going to be one of his proud collection of his posession. And thus, NOBODY was allowed to touch her, or even try to reach to her until he gets her, Riddle thought frustrated, as Bellamore took a small sip awkwardly.  
"So, please tell me, . What do you mean by 'you will take care of that'," Riddle asked a question in an attempt to make Rowle forget about his "father".  
"Oh, I wuz just sayin', he migh' cut down few sickl' for ya. Cuz I'm 'is friend."  
Riddle's eyes grew sharp, "I am very surprised you are friends with such a notable person. Perhaps you were a talented researcher as well...?"  
"You flatter me, m'boy. But to be trrruful, I wuz qui' 'alented wiz darkkk arrrrtttts."  
"How fascinating. So you met in some dark arts research organisation, I presume?"  
"Bah. I wa'n't that smart... I me' him in a 'lub. Thir'y yea's ago."  
"Very long time ago. You must have been a great and important friend to him."  
"Yup. Yes I wuz."  
"Then you must have great influence on him."  
chuckled, "You 're such a great young 'an. But I beli'e it's tru'."  
"Then I'm sure you could easily convince your friend to lower the price," Riddle smirked.  
"Yup," gave a hiccup.  
"Then, could you perhaps, lower the price to two galleons?"  
"TWO GALL'ONS? M'lin's bear'! Tha' is..."  
Riddle cut him off, "We will pay you another half galleon."  
stopped his rattling, and stared at the young man, greedy look shining in his dull eyes.  
"And, I'll buy you another firewhiskey," Riddle raised an eyebrow as he watched the old man turn his gaze to now empty cup.  
"Hm. If ya buyin' me anothe' fi'whiskey," Mr. Rowle grumbled.  
"Then two galleons it is," Riddle smiled and ordered another glass of firewhiskey.  
"Righ'. So, appara' to Knocktur' 'lley,... 'owabout nex' week saturda' at 11:00 am?"  
"Ugh... we prefer if it's in midnight... How about twelve in the midnight?" Genevieve suggested. It was impossible to get out of Hogwarts in the daylight.  
"Righ', righ'. Then wha' ar' ya names?" took out a parchment and a pen from his pocket.  
"Ugh..., R-, Rooklyn. Rooklyn's fine," Genevieve mumbled.  
"And could you remind your friend that my daughter will be coming with my son, instead of me?" Genevieve added.  
"Righ', righ'..." added a few more scribbles to his notes, "Righ', I'll sen' 'im a letter. He will kno' everythin' when ya get ther'. Ya've been to Knocktur' 'lley, righ'? It's the thir..., no, four' shop from the entran', on righ' side. 't called Abblings' Libra'y," Mr. Rowle took another gulp from the glass and gave a hiccup.  
"Then we will send you the money after the visit to Knockturn Alley," Genevieve smiled to him.  
"No 'oblem, sirrrrs. 'ave a goood 'ay," Mr. Rowle stood up to his feet, and stumbled to the exit as he held the glass of firewhiskey in one of his hands. As Mr. Rowle finally left the shop, the door closed with a bang.  
Genevieve slowly turned back to her normal looks, and sipped from her butterbeer. Tom stared at her in curiosity as her beard shortened and her hair turned black, but didn't dare ask anything.  
"We can't go, Genevieve," Riddle stared at the butterbeer he hasn't touched, "There are no way we can apparate to outside of the Hogwarts. We can't ask for permission either," Riddle sighed.  
"No, I think we can. With enough powerful magic, we can break the wards of Hogwarts to apparate. So if I become somebody with very powerful magic, I could apparate out of Hogwarts. Another option is making a portkey. That's forbidden by the ministry, but they can never detect it, so who cares," Genevieve explained.  
"Hm. Or we can just Imperio Dippet to lift the Anti-Disapparition Jinx. Then anyone can apparate out of Hogwarts," Riddle chuckled, "Okay then. I guess we can make portkeys, then," and finally sipped some of his already-cold butterbeer.  
"That Mr. Rowle was a fool," he said after a while, "It was so easy to convince him. I only needed firewhiskey to make him drunk, and now all we need to pay are two galleons to Mr. Abbilings, and three galleons and eight sickles to ," and gave a swing of his butterbeer.  
"Riddle?" Riddle raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you. About monday when you carried me to the Infirmary?"  
Genevieve added, "And also about the notes from classes. I appreciate them very much," Genevieve smiled at him, "So, thanks."  
Riddle seemed wordless for few seconds as he still stared at her, but he soon looked away, and took another swing of butterbeer.  
After a cough he mumbled, "Yes, I do believe I deserve some appreciation," his lips turned into a smirk. "It was such a hard work to carry you to the Infirmary."  
Genevieve gasped, exasperated. "I am NOT that heavy. You are only exaggerating. And you have no manners."  
Riddle chuckled, and took a last swing of his butterbeer. And after leaving two sickles on the table, he stood up and fetched his coat. Still smirking, he left the shop.

A/N: Thank you again for reading my chapter! And tried to make space between paragraphs this time. What do you think? Did it make it easier to read? And few days ago, I received another review from a guest! Thank you **roses are white**! It made me so happy, and encouraged me to write more. She also told me that I wrote Riddle's character perfectly (I think that's a best compliment fanfiction writers can get, in my personal opinion. So thank you!) She also indicated about the typos... I'm sorry about that :P I forgot to check my spelling in last few chapters, so I'll be careful from this time onwards :) And thank you **SonnyDerevoLegno **for following my story! It made my day :D This week, I went to the Harry Potter Exhibition that was held in Tokyo. And I was EXTREMELY HAPPY to see Tom Riddle's costume that was used in the second movie, the one Christian Coulson wore it (I was so happy that I wanted to hug it, really o_o ). So, I hope you enjoyed my chapter, and as always reviews are highly appreciated! ;)


	17. Chapter 17: Quidditch

chapter 16: Quidditch

Genevieve walked down to the Great Hall next morning to find Canopus and Alphard chatting animatedly over the table, while Abraxas listened to them half-heartedly. She was able to guess from their attitudes that they were talking about Quidditch.

"Good morning," Genevieve slided into the seat next to Canopus. Noticing her, Abraxas smiled and waved at her, and took another bite from his toast. Canopus and Alphard beamed at her.

After a while, Canopus said, "It's Quidditch today," and grinned.

Abraxas groaned, "Canopus, cut it off. It's the fifth time you said that already. First right after you woke up, second, when we were changing. Third, when we were leaving the common room. And fourth, when we sat down at the breakfast table," Abraxas folded one finger at a time as he explained.

"Oh, Abe! I'm just so excited to beat up the losers!" Canopus' eyes twinkled in excitement.

"And you know what's great about being a Quidditch player?" Canopus whispered to Alphard, who shook his head, "Check this out."

And he stood up from the chair, and walked over to Christina Yaxley, who happened to walk past them. "Hey, have you ever heard of a good luck charm for Quidditch players?" Canopus asked Christina, who mumbled 'no', as she gave a flirting smile towards him.

"A kiss from an incredibly attractive girl. Would you care to give one?" Canopus smirked, and Christina pecked on his cheek, while her face turned red. Canopus gave a beaming smile to her, and came back.

"See? That's how you do it. Now go and look for Fluffy Pinkstone," he smiled at Alphard.

On the other hand, Alphard furrowed his brows, "Her name's Fiffy Pinkstone."

"Whatever. Now go," and Canopus sent Alphard away to his crush.

Genevieve chuckled, and looking forward, noticed that Abraxas somehow had a bitter face. She was now reminded that he actually used to have crush on Christina Yaxley, and now felt deeply sorry for him. Genevieve came to wonder, why Abraxas didn't have any admirers. He was a perfect kind of person a girl would choose for a boyfriend. He was kind and caring, and he had good manners for ladies. He may be harsh and cruel to the others, like Gryffindors, but once you got to know him, he was kind all the way. Genevieve also thought he was quite good-looking, now that she came to think about it. His blonde straight hair, always perfectly combed, his sapphire blue eyes clear as the ocean in pacific, twinkled occasionally. And he had charming dimples whenever he smiled.

Seriously, he was a better choice than Riddle, Genevieve thought bitterly.

Alphard soon came back with a sad expression on his face, "She didn't give me a kiss..." he mumbled as he sat down.  
"Well, that happens, Al. Don't worry, Fluffy will like you back someday. Patience, Al. Patience is the key to success," Canopus patted Alphard on his shoulder, but never came to notice that he still had mistaken her name.

Giving a quick glance, she saw Abraxas' face contort into bitterness, and he somehow came to have great interest in his hands, and started to study them. Genevieve felt her heart ache and prickle seeing her friend in such a sad mood.

Canopus and Alphard left the breakfast table earlier than others to prepare for the match. Genevieve and Abraxas waved them good bye as they shouted insults at the opposing team such as 'losers', 'hypocritical wild beast' and 'weakling chicken'. Genevieve stifled a laugh, and soon after the entire Great Hall turned into a Gryffindor-Slytherin insult competition.

Genevieve glanced in the direction of Abraxas. And was shocked when he was still in a bitter mood. It was as though a big heavy rock came falling on her heart. Genevieve held out her hand, and placed it over his. Abraxas noticed, and looked up questioningly at her.

"I know how you feel. And I'm always here for you, Abraxas," Genevieve smiled.

Abraxas' face turned into a small smile, "I'm really glad I have a friend like you."

As the clock striked 11:00, they decided to leave and start heading for the direction of the Quidditch Pitch, 20 minutes away from the castle by walk.

"Why don't you tell Canopus that you like her?"

Abraxas seemed surprised by a sudden question, but after a while of thinking, "I can tell from Canopus' behaviour that he's really into Christina."

"He's not talking to any other girl. She's more special than other girls to him. He still doesn't love her, but she's in the top ranks of his list. You know what I mean?"

Genevieve nodded and urged him to continue.

"If Christina really likes Canopus, and Canopus really likes her too. I came to a conclusion that I should let them together and stop fussing about it. I convinced myself that if my best friend and Christina are both happy together, I should be happy for them too. But,..." Abraxas sighed. "It's proving to be more difficult than I thought."

Genevieve put her arm around his shoulder.

"What about you, Genevieve?" Abraxas turned to her, "Don't you fancy anyone?"

Genevieve furrowed her brows, "No, I don't think so."

"Don't fancy Riddle like other girls?" Abraxas' lips slightly turned into a smirk.

"No! Why on earth would I fancy Riddle? He has been cursing me for ages, well, not anymore, but. Riddle may have good looks, but he's a 'hypocritical wild beast'."

Abraxas chuckled, "Yeah. Riddle's not kind of a person you should choose for your boyfriend."

When they got into the Quidditch Field, the seats were already packed with other students. Genevieve and Abraxas luckily found two vacant seats.

The game was just about to begin, and the Quidditch players from both Gryffindors and Slytherins flew out with a loud fanfare. Genevieve and Abraxas both cheered. All the Quidditch players were floating in midair in circles glaring at their opponents while Professor Zibbling, a young wizard teacher in charge of Quidditch Games in Hogwarts and teaching how to ride a broomstick to first years, came out holding a Quaffle in his hands.

"Three, Two, One!", Professor Zibbling blew a whistle, and tossed the Quaffle into the air.

"AND! The game begins! The first person to get a Quaffle is Gryffindor Chaser Marcus Corner. He is heading straight to the Slytherin goalpost! Druella Rosier tries to stop, but he passes through! He passes Canopus Lestrange as well! He throws the Quaffle. Is it goal!? Oh, Dorea Black, the Keeper kicks it back! What was that, Corner! You were throwing at Black! It was obvious you weren't going to goal. Now the Quaffle is in the hands of Druella Rosier. But oh no! Septimus Weasley and Harfang Longbottom corners her! What is she going to do! She throws the Quaffle and-, Lestrange catches it! Now Lestrange throws to Cedrella Black, who throws back to Rosier, to Lestrange! And! He goals! 10 points for Slytherin! Merlin's polka dot underwear! What the bloody hell were you doing, Ignatius Prewett, the Quaffle was right in front of you! Your job is a Keeper, remember?"

Kelpie Forsett, a Slytherin fifth year commentator, was famous for his outspoken comments he made on the games. He even once made Ariana Flume, Gryffindor fourth year Seeker cry. However, he was very popular in the Slytherin for his talent in making insults at Gryffindors. And as always, Slytherins roared in laughter at his comments.

"The game continues, Caspar Crouch, famous for his troll-sized brain and gorilla-sized arms hits the Bludger towards Marcus Corner. Miraculously, he was able to find his opponent. Bludger heading straight to Corner, WATCH OUT! OUCH! The Bludger hits Corner's broom, it's broken in half! Corner has fainted like a girl, and fell miserably on the ground. Ooh, that must have hurt. Edgecome! What the hell were you doing there floating! You were right next to him! Eh, Septimus Weasley made a score while Slytherin team were laughing at Edgecome. 10 points for Gryffindor!"

Some teachers came out to carry Marcus Corner away.

That was the time she felt it. A small prickle in the side of her head. But that was not all. What surprised her was the anger that came with it. It was never-ending fury that boiled inside her bottomless cauldron. It was unreasonable. She was happy just a second ago, and now she felt extremely aggressive. Like she wanted to kill all the people in the Quidditch Field. She saw a ring that was set in the marriage finger. And she was in a library. She knew that instantly from the familiar tables and chairs in front of her. The image flashed away in a few seconds, but she remembered the ring clearly. It was an odd design, really. Too flamboyant for wearing everyday. Too old-fashioned for a young person to wear. At least, the person wearing the ring looked young since the skin was flawless without a wrinkle. The ring was golden, and had a pattern engraved on it. The ring had a big black jewel that seemed to be coal diamond, and had a triangular shape drawn on it.

"Genevieve, Genevieve!" a voice called her and she shook her head to clear off her mind. She looked to her left and found Abraxas looking at her, concerned, "Are you all right? What happened?"  
"Nothing," Genevieve flashed a smile and looked up into the sky.  
"Now it's 60 to 90 and Gryffindor's on the lead!" Kelpie Forsett continued.  
"And Charlus Potter hits the Bludger heading straight to Crouch. WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CROUCH. YOU ARE A BLOODY BEATER. YOU HIT THE BLUDGER WITH YOUR BAT WHEN IT COMES TO YOU," Caspar Crouch, who has been daydreaming on his broomstick did nothing when a Bludger came towards him. But was saved by another beater Cygnus Black, who shot the Bludger towards Ariana Flume. But she ducked down to avoid. However, as soon as Cygnus Black left Caspar Crouch, he seem to have started daydreaming again, staring into midair with a stupid grin on his face. When another Bludger striked him, he screamed "Aaaaaaaaaaaa..." as he fell off his broom and pounded onto ground. This time no teachers came out to pick him up.  
"I can't even comment on Crouch's stupidness, now back to game. Hey! What is that!? It's golden, sparkling- it's the Snitch! Avery made his first move, he flies like a wind across the pitch with his sickening rich broomstick, following the Snitch. WATCH OUT! Avery has made his turn just in time before he hit a wall. Now Ariana Flume follows him -finally. Avery's closing in... Avery stops in midair... has he got it!? Has he got ter Snitch!? Aaaaaand, yes he does! He is holding his arm up, and inside it, a sparkling gold ball! 150 points for Slytherin! Slytherin WIIIIIIIIIINS!"

All the Slytherins roared in joy. And Genevieve and Abraxas screamed Alphard's and Canopus' names. As Alphard threw his hand up in the air to show the snitch, the Gryffindor team members glared at him murderously. As the crowd started to walk up to the exit, Genevieve caught a sight where Canopus was giving a high-five with Alphard.

Back in the Hogwarts while Genevieve and Abraxas were watching the game, Tom Riddle sat in the deserted library. He came to a conclusion that nothing was better than deserted Hogwarts library, so he decided to enjoy the quiet time before the students came back from the Quidditch and filled every space of grounds in chaos and noise. He was in a particularly good mood, since there were no one to annoy him, and he sat on the window sill and with open book on his lap, dreamily gazed at the Giant Lake outside. The book was "Hogwarts, A History". His very favourite and the very first book he have read in the library in his first year. He loved it so much that he have read it over and over, and he ended up memorising all of the facts in the book. It was the best, as always.

But there was something that was disturbing this pleasant afternoon. It was a prickle. It was small first, but it was getting worse and worse. Bothered by the head ache, Tom massaged his temple with a sigh. However, no matter how much he tried, the head ache got worse until the point when Tom started to feel dizzy. Tom dropped his book, and clutched his head with a groan. Should he go to the Madam Mason's?

But before he could stretch his legs to stand up, he saw an image. What is this? His vision was entirely light blue, but as his sight became clear, he started to see red and green robes billowing with the wind. It was a moment later when he came to notice that, those flying robes were people. People on brooms, flying in midair. The Quidditch players, both Gryffindors and Slytherins were glaring at each other as they stayed in midair in circle. A warm sensation filled inside his chest. He wasn't sure if this warm feeling was actually really there. It was rarely there. It was just that he got an impression that it was warm. It made him want to grin, smile and laugh out loud. Weird. It was similar to the feeling when his knights or himself succeeded in something, but it wasn't the same. This feeling was very foreign to him... more gentle, but never-ending happiness. There was another feeling. His heart thumped, and made him want to scream. Now this was familiar to him. It was excitement. Tom gazed as Professor Zibbling threw a Quaffle in the air, and the players raced to catch the Quaffle in their hands. He can hear the students packed in the field, cheering and roaring for the players. But suddenly the image and screams were gone. And all he could hear was student's cheering ringing in his ears.

He knew somehow that all of these were from a student. Somebody was seeing and hearing the Quidditch game. And he was only able to guess who was seeing this. Bellamore. This was obviously caused by this stupid bond between her and him. Only the thought of her made him angry. The passage he read on Exitium Reverie by Finthos Fitchley said that the connection between two wizards that causes Memory Reverse are formed in rare occasion when two wizards' magical strength are equal. Are equal. ARE EQUAL! That was impossible. Totally UNACCEPTABLE! He had always been the top, best at anything! And now there's someone equal to him!? And why did it have to be her? Out of all people? Now there were more risks that he may lose against her, if she tries to attack him. And worse, she wasn't loyal to him at all. He wasn't even close to call her his follower, servant, or slave. That made him scared, or he rather preferred the term 'cautious'. She was equal with him, not only in skills and intellect, but in behaviour! It was apparent from her behaviour that she didn't think him as superior. '_Like how she calls me by that disgusting muggle name, instead of "My Lord"'_, Tom thought gravely back at her words thrown at him.

Although Bellamore was still dangerous, he must dare say he was finally starting to make her think he really was nice. Bellamore actually said 'thank you' to him, and she even joked with him yesterday. And she was also affirmative with the fact that he was working with her now to stop the bond of Exitium Reverie. In fact, he was stunned when Bellamore came out of that street looking like a grandpa, and still admitted that she was Bellamore when he questioned her. This meant he was close to making her tell her secrets. She had allowed him to understand that she was a shapeshifter or something of that line, who can turn into both humans and non-alive substances. And so he must praise himself for getting an acceptable result by his effort and charisma. He had done everything he could think of to make Bellamore fall for him. He had seduced her, held his anger even when she was rude, he had been kind to her at all times and helped her. He had even kissed and sucked on her neck! Kissing an aggressive girl like Bellamore, the thought of it was disgusting! But somehow fascinating. Tom couldn't understand why, but he still remembered everything when he had kissed her few months ago, back in August. He remembered the sensations he felt when he licked her skin, touched her hair, and smelled into her perfume. He also remembered the welling of emotions he felt when kissing her. It was in the morning, before breakfast, and Bellamore was searching for the books of Exitium Reverie when he met her. He remembered how her jet black hair turned into bronze, and her purple eyes into light pink as she stood in the golden rays of the sun that came in from the high windows of the library. Everything was quiet at that time, since everyone were still sleeping and all he heard were the rustling of the turning pages and a shallow, quiet breathing of Bellamore. He remembered the blackberry perfume she always wore. His heart skipped a beat when his lips touched her skin. His tongue burned when it touched her skin. Very... exquisite.

His head snapped up, and once again anger overwhelmed his mind. WHY ON EARTH WAS HE THINKING LIKE THIS!? This looked like as though HE was falling for her. Huh. I never fell for a girl, and I never will. He would rather die..., wait, no,... he would rather give away his prefect badge than to fancy Bellamore. These were all Bellamore's fault! Making him confused with himself and think like a bloody lunatic. The very goal was to make Genevieve trust him enough so that she'll answer his questions truthfully. And to make her trust him, he decided it will be most easy to make him fall for him. At least it was easy to make women fall for him, but not HER. Bellamore didn't fall for him even for his great effort! Still, she didn't fall for him. Only a little friendlier, but not to the extent of madly-in-love-with-him. This, pissed him off. So about a month ago, his goal had changed to make Bellamore frantically in love with him, rather than to trust him. This was a matter of his pride. So over a month now, he had been kissing, seducing, helping, and smiling at her to make her fall for him. He had been frantically trying to attract her attention. As though he needed attention from a girl like Bellamore! As though he frantically wanted her to love him! Huh, love. He thought an action of making Bellamore his girl will regain his pride, but he was wrong. HUH, Lord Voldemort serving for a stupid girl to gain love? He can't live like that. Making Bellamore his may have been a great step to the truth and past of Genevieve Bellamore, but he had gone too far. This bloody sounded like he wanted her to LOVE him. He, of all people, shouldn't need to ask for people to love HIM. However, a small voice whispered in the corner of his mind, _'Or must he? His father didn't love him, or people from the orphanage. Must he ask people to love him?'_ But soon, he dismissed the idea, or tried to dismiss. What was he thinking? He was the most intelligent, and most popular person in the school. Everybody loved him. And anyway, Lord Voldemort didn't need love anyway. He was strong and tough enough to survive without one. Lord Voldemort didn't need love. And certainly not from Genevieve Bellamore.

His anger escalated as he absent-mindedly stared down at his ring. It was a very special ring which he had acquired last year from his uncle. There was a loud pop in the air surrounding him, and with loud echoing bang, a big wooden table near to him flipped over, as well as several of the chairs surrounding it.

Tom lazily flicked his finger at them, then the chairs and the table moved themselves around to put themselves back in their original position. In a few seconds, the chairs and the table were placed as though nothing ever happened, and the only thing that remained was the echo of the screeching on the floor caused by the chairs' legs. All the while, Tom never raised his head from the ring, and came to a conclusion that it was best to forget about Bellamore. Such as by occupying himself with a good book. So he stood up, and walked away in the direction of the Restricted Section. He must never serve Genevieve Bellamore again.

Genevieve entered the Slytherin common room that night, and was surprised to see everyone cheering and jumping in the room to the music that was booming. In the midst of the crowd, she saw Alphard being tossed into the air by students' hands. Everyone were shouting Alphard's name. Soon, Alphard noticed the presence of her, "Hey, Genevieve!" and he waved at her. Blinling but smiling at the same time, Genevieve waved back. Alphard came down on the ground, and came shuffling towards her, "We were having a party for the Slytherin Quidditch team. I'm glad you made it. Do you wanna go cheer for Caspar Crouch? He didn't do much job today, but he just came back from the Infirmary."

Genevieve nodded in half hearted way, so Alphard led Genevieve to the center, where everyone were attempting to carry heavy Caspar from the ground to their shoulders. However, somebody grasped her hand from the back, so she turned around in wonder to see who took her hand. It was Abraxas, who was smiling, "There you are! Do you wanna get some butterbeer?" he shouted over the booming music that filled the room. Genevieve, who wasn't really in a mood for lifting heavy Caspar, nodded and informed Alphard that she was going to stay with Abraxas.

"I'll catch you guys later!" Alphard shouted with a smile, and ran off the crowd.

Genevieve and Abraxas, with great effort, reached the corner of the room where it was less chaotic, and Abraxas took two butterbeers from the nearby table, and handed one to Genevieve. Genevieve mumbled a small 'thanks' and took a tiny sip from it. For the first time then, Genevieve was able to look over the entire room. The Slytherin common room was filled with balloons and ribbons coloured in green, silver and black. There were magical music amplifier in the corners of the room, and "Owl Howl" from Bungee Banshee, the popular rock band in the magical world was being played. She spotted Canopus chatting excitedly with Christina Yaxley in the far corner, Christina blushing occasionally. Slytherins were eating, drinking, chatting, playing jokes on each other, or lifting Caspar. The students were still sweating and groaning to somehow lift Caspar, and now she noticed that few more boys from older grades have joined them to help. On the other hand, many girls cheered for the boys. Caspar was sheepishly muttering 'sorry' to anyone who was there to lift him. Genevieve smiled and giggled at the view. The room was filled with laughter and cheering. That was what she liked about the Slytherins. They were always helping each other, and protecting each other from the other houses like Gryffindor.

"So where have you been the whole time?" the question brought her back.

"I was staying in the library," Genevieve looked up to see Abraxas, who nodded as he smiled.

"Where did they get all these foods and drinks from?" Genevieve asked.

"Oh, it's the Selwyn sisters. You know the girls from 5th and 4th grade? They either stole it from the kitchen, or 'asked' the house elves." Abraxas chuckled.

"That's so Slytherin," Genevieve giggled, until, a voice spoke up from behind them, "Hey, Abe."

They both turned around and found Cygnus Black, who was smirking at Abraxas, but occasionally glanced at her.

"Hi, Cygnus. Great job today on your beater job," Abraxas smiled as he patted Cygnus on the shoulder. "You know Genevieve Bellamore, right? Genevieve, this is Cygnus Black," Abraxas introduced them to each other.

"Pleased to meet you," Genevieve mumbled as she blushed.

Cygnus Black chuckled and placed his hand on her waist, "You are adorable, Genevieve." Surprised, Genevieve stared into his handsome face. His eyes were locked with her's. What in the world...?

"Hey Genevieve, would you like to go to the Slug party with me? I'm not in the Slug Club, but I'm always free for you," Cygnus smirked.

"Um...," Genevieve stuttered for an answer.

But her train of thoughts were distracted by Abraxas' sudden voice, "It was really nice seeing you, Cygnus." His smile was still friendly, but Genevieve somehow got an impression that his voice was colder than before.

With a nod to Abraxas and a wink to her, Cygnus left them and strode off to the food counter.

"He doesn't even have a right to call me Abe," Abraxas glared at his back. But after a while, "I'm sorry, Genevieve," he turned around to her. "I now think I shouldn't have introduced you to him. I just never knew that he was a slimy git!" Abraxas wrinkled his nose, infuriated.

"What did he mean by the Slug Club Party? Does he mean the tea party?" Genevieve slightly furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Haven't you heard?" Abraxas arched his eyebrows. "Hm. Maybe you haven't. Well, there's going to be a Christmas Party held by Slughorn on the last week."

"Christmas Party? So, you mean like, decorating the christmas trees and opening presents?"

Genevieve was surprised to find Abraxas laugh out loud. "Genevieve, after all these years you knew Slughorn, you are not going to say he will throw a sleepover party to wait for Santa to come, right?" Abraxas chuckled. "No, we are not going to decorate a christmas tree. Slughorn's going to introduce us to his ex-students. So that we have better chance of getting a job in the future."

"That sounds incredibly boring," Genevieve wrinkled her nose. "And Cygnus was asking me to bring him to this party?"

"Yeah," Abraxas mumbled, "Hey... Do you,... could you come with me to the party? As friends of course."

"Yeah. That seems like a good idea. I prefer you to him," Genevieve casted a glance at Cygnus Black who was now talking with another girl animatedly.

"I appreciate," Abraxas bowed in an exaggerated way.

As they both giggled, Alphard came up, panting. "Phew! We were finally able to throw Caspar in the air! So, what were you guys talking about?" he grinned.

"About the Christmas party," Abraxas informed him, "Remember? The one held by Slughorn?"

"You should invite Fifi Pinkstone to the party, Alphard," Genevieve said teasingly.

"Yeah, I should. But I'm not sure how, Genevieve," Alphard sighed, suddenly looking very sad.

"Hmm," Genevieve thought for a moment, "You should deliver her red roses. With... ugh... I don't know... poems are typical, I guess."

Before Alphard had a chance to open his mouth, Canopus jumped into the conversation. "What are you talking about, Genevieve? Those ones are too old-fashioned. You have to be stylish, sort of a playboy. You know what I mean?"

"So, like, dance in front of her to appeal his love!" Abraxas exclaimed confidently.

"Yes,.. what, NO! Definitely NO, Abe!" Canopus raised his brows in disbelief, "You think THAT's going to catch a woman's heart? For merlin's sake, we are not birds, Abe."

Abraxas rolled his eyes.

"Say something catchy like, 'I'll chase your heart on the broom to the world's end!' or something like that. And wink, maybe. You know what, go and tell her now. She's in Hufflepuff, right? You took the snitch today and you are a star, for today. So go and catch her heart before she forgets," and he pushed Alphard away in the direction of the exit.

Alphard left looking unsure of himself, muttering something like 'but I don't know how to wink...' as he disappeared behind the exit.

Abraxas and Genevieve later engaged in an active discussion by the couch whether the effect of Baruffio's Brain Elixir, or smarting potion in simple words will be enhanced when billywig stings are added. In her opinion, billywig stings, which Australians often used in the past to make their brain go fuzzy and float in midair, wouldn't have any effects on Brain Elixir. In fact, it will reduce the ability of Brain Elixir because the billywig stings makes wizards' brains not function properly. Except in Wideye Potion, or Awakening Potion where billywig stings are used to clear the minds of wizards who take the potion. The reason for this is because when adding Wolfsbane at the last few stages of brewing, the wolfsbane changes the billywig stings to make wizards' brain function properly. But billywig stings and wolfsbane together cannot be used for the Brain Elixir because wolfsbane will bring unwanted side effects, like hallucination. However, Abraxas had a different opinion that wolfsbane can be replaced with peppermint leaves, so that billywig stings can clear the minds when Brain Elixir are used. The discussion stopped, however, when Canopus started snoring on the couch next to Abraxas, leaning his head on Abraxas' shoulder. The common room was quite deserted now, and Canopus snores echoed through out the common room.

"Then,... I guess we could continue this debate some next time?" Abraxas shrugged his shoulder.

Genevieve nodded, and watched as he shook Canopus, "Canopus! Hey! Wake up!" However, Abraxas sighed when Canopus mumbled 'five more minutes', and he put Canopus' arm over his shoulder, and helped him get up. "Let's go back to the room, Canopus," whispered Abraxas, and he started walking after Canopus again mumbled something in his sleep.

"Do you need any help?" Genevieve whispered. Abraxas turned his head around and shook his head as he beamed, "No. I'm fine, thanks. Good night," and he pulled Canopus in the direction of the stairs that led to the boys dormitory.

Seeing Abraxas and Canopus disappear down the stairs, Genevieve ran down the other stairs in the direction of her room.

A/N: I'm very sorry for such a late update! And finally here's chapter 16 :) I had great difficulty portraying Tom's emotion about Genevieve. And it is revealed in this chapter that the bond of Exitium Reverie can exchange not only memories but the thoughts they are having. I am thankful to many readers who are still keeping up with my story, I can't express this appreciation into words. But you readers really helps me to keep writing this story :) I'm coming up with more and more stories of 5 of my very favourite characters, Genevieve, Abraxas, Canopus, Alphard and Tom, so I might start writing them soon, or I might keep them until I finish this one. And thank you **roses are white** for following my story! _**And very important! I am thinking to make a tumblr where people can question me, or my characters.**_What do you think? Plz tell me how you think about it :D And... thank you **roses are white **for your review and also for correcting the name! The name was supposed to be Charlus Potter instead of Charles Potter :P


	18. Chapter 18: Veritaserum

Chapter 17: Veritaserum

Genevieve woke up next morning in her bed, and skipped up the stairs to the Great Hall. As always, Genevieve found Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard sitting on the Slythein table.

"Genevieve! You have no idea what happened last night!" Alphard shouted almost across the entire Great Hall, thus many of the students turned to look at Genevieve in curiosity. Genevieve blushed, and her face turned even more red when Cygnus Black winked at her, and she literally started running to the table where her friends sat.

"What happened?" Genevieve asked as she hid behind Abraxas.

"Hahaha. Your face is red," Canopus laughed, but she paid no attention to him.

"Well, yesterday, I went to Hufflepuff common room entrance, but I didn't know the password, so I was just waiting there. But then, soon later, Fifi Pinkstone came out with her friends. So I asked her to come with me, and I took her to the Astronomy Tower," Alphard started talking non-stop, until Canopus interrupted. "Good one. Astronomy Tower's quite romantic."

Alphard grinned and continued, "Yup. And so, I casted a charm that made red flowers grow in her brown hair, and I said 'I'll chase to the edge of the world on the broom to catch your heart. And then I gently kissed on her cheek!"

"And then?" Genevieve urged him to speak, a smile slowly taking form on her face as she saw Alphard blushed and gave an excited shriek.

"I asked her to come to the Christmas Party, and she said yes! I feel like flying now!" Alphard gave a sigh.

Everyone cheered in happiness. "You did a great job, Al," Canopus lightly punched on his shoulder.

After a moment, Alphard asked, "Do you have any crush, Abraxas?"

Genevieve stirred uncomfortably on her chair, but Abraxas didn't seem to mind. "I have no interest," was all he said as he poured himself an apple tea.

"Well, that's BLOODY boring. You will be marrying someday, you know," Canopus said as he stuffed some sausages into his mouth.

Abraxas only smiled weakly. After a while, Alphard stood up and drifted over to the Hufflepuff seat. There, a girl waved at him and patted an empty seat next to her. Blushing, Alphard sat down next to her. Genevieve assumed this girl was Fifi Pinkstone. Fifi, was not that tall, but her blonde hair matched well with her pink cheeks. Her pale blue eyes stared dreamily at Alphard, and white teeth showed when ever she giggled. Genevieve thought she was lovely.

The three decided to leave for the Potions without Alphard because Canopus insisted that Alphard needed some time alone with "Fluffy Pinkstone".

As the students shuffled into the potions classroom, they all sat together in their usual seats. Riddle, Abraxas and Genevieve on the same table, and Canopus and Alphard behind them with Cygnus Black. The dungeon was very cold, and everyone were freezing as they tried to scooch as much as possible to the stove that was placed in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, the stove was placed in the left front corner of the room, farthest place to them.

"It's freezing in here, isn't it?" Genevieve heard Abraxas mutter under his breath.

So she waved her wand, and they started to feel a little bit warmer.

"Thanks," Abraxas mumbled, and Genevieve returned him with a smile.

However, her smile disappeared when a booming voice echoed in the class, "Hello, hello! Good morning!" Professor Slughorn entered the class and shuffled to the professor's desk in the front, "I hope you all are excited for your christmas break that's starting in two weeks! Of course, I won't be giving you any homework over the holiday, but I just would like to give out some small projects... to see what you have learned this year."

The students let out a groan.

"Oh come on, it wouldn't be that hard. You'll only need to brew a potion in your group, and write an essay. The due date is last week's monday, so you will have two weeks to work on it."

Slughorn waved his wand, and a chalk started to write a list of potions on chalkboard, "The potions will be everything we have covered this term, Amortentia, Calming Draught, Exploding Potion, Fungiface Potion, Veritaserum, and Grand Pepperup Potion. Do you have any questions?"

She saw Riddle silently raise his hand in the air, "Sir, some of those potions like Veritaserum, takes more than two weeks to brew."

"Ah, good question, Tom," Slughorn nodded, "Well then, if the brewing time takes more than two weeks, you may submit your work without any brewing. And I will check your potions after the christmas break, after brewing."

Riddle nodded and sat down.

Then Slughorn moved onto assigning the potions to each group of students, and when he reached her table. Genevieve heard Slughorn assigning Exploding Potions to Canopus, Alphard and Cygnus Black. _'Perfect potion for them, I'm sure,'_ Genevieve thought to herself, and as she turned around, she caught a glimpse of Canopus forming a wicked smile on his face at Alphard when Slughorn turned away. Next, Slughorn reached to her table, "Well, well,... the three best students in the class,... and my very favourite students of course," Slughorn beamed at her.

"Now, why don't you all get into a team, and work on Veritaserum? It is the hardest one in the list, but I'm sure with three greatest brains working together, you can finish the project with no difficulties."

"I'm sure we can try our best," she heard Riddle speak.

"You are too humble, Tom," Slughorn again beamed at him, then at Abraxas and her, and shuffled away.

Genevieve heaved a small sigh. She still preferred someone else than Riddle, but Abraxas in the group, it made things whole a lot better.

Genevieve was brought back from her deep thoughts when Riddle went to get the ingredients, and Abraxas followed him to help.

So Genevieve decided to set the cauldron on fire and prepare to brew the potion.

For the rest of the class, they concentrated on brewing the Veritaserum correctly. Riddle volunteered to mix the ingredients into the cauldron while Abraxas and she prepared the ingredients. They rarely talked during the process, and the only words they exchanged were something like, "Could you pass me the knife?" or "Can you cut the bat spleens for me?"

The classroom was perfectly silent until, there was a loud scream from behind her. Genevieve, who was concentrating on cutting the squid's legs into circle, which was extremely difficult because of the slippery squid's legs, yelped. She whipped around, and what she saw before her eyes made her mouth fall open.

What she saw in front of her, was Canopus, screaming "What the hell is this?" repeatedly in a panicked way, and Alphard and Cygnus Black laughing clutching their stomach. And she spotted a jelly slimy and neon purple on his hand. Since the pot on their table was also neon purple, Genevieve assumed that what Canopus was holding was an unfinished Exploding Potion. But it looked far different from the Exploding Potion in the textbooks; the Exploding Potion was supposed to be fiery red liquid. And she also noticed, from the way Canopus shook his arm, that those slimy things had suckers, like the ones octopus had. Genevieve suppressed her giggle as she watched Canopus, now running through the classroom still repeating "What is thisssss!", swinging his arm to get rid of the potion.

But then finally, the jelly potion was detached, and it flew over the students' heads, and landed on Demelza Black's face, who were giggling seconds ago. Now she was screaming and trying to pull the jelly away from her. Genevieve noticed that she was the girl from Ravenclaw who threw her a spell few weeks ago in the breakfast. Genevieve had already forgiven her, but she still didn't want to call her 'a friend'. It shouldn't hurt to laugh at her.

Now Demelza Black was running around the classroom, screaming. In a few minutes, the class was put into chaos. Demelza Black knocked over several tables and cauldrons, spilling potions everywhere. She also bumped into several people. There were laughter, screams, and the clattering of potion kits falling on the floor. Slughorn seemed to be unable to move from the shock he was in.

Demelza Black finally pulled the potion off her face, screaming "Gross!" And now the potion started to fly in the direction of Slughorn, who's eyes turned wide with fear, and stumbled back.

Genevieve saw Abraxas pull out his wand, and he pointed at the jelly potion, mumbling "reducto". The potion instantly turned into liquid before reaching to Slughorn's head. But instead, it came falling down on Genevieve. The next moment, Genevieve was covered from head to toe in purple gooey slime.

Everybody started laughing at her, including Canopus, Alphard and Cygnus Black. Except for Abraxas who looked sorry.

Genevieve giggled in embarrassment, turning bright red. However her smile faded away when her eyes met Riddle's. Riddle was just observing her indifferently. No hint of slightest smile or amusement. Just, blank. As his cold stare stabbed through her, Genevieve noticed there was something different about Riddle today. He hadn't talked to her all day, or was it because they were in a class? He hadn't thrown her his usual charming smile, and those teasing sparkles in his eyes when he talked to her, were also gone. His grey eyes were rather dull.

She was brought back to the Earth once again however, when she heard the bell and Slughorn started putting things back into orders. "Now clean the floors and tables, and I want you all to fix those shattered jars, so that you can levitate the ingredients back in. No, Mr. Crouch, you will use magic to fix the jars. Surely you must know the spell reparo? And I advise three of you to go to Madam Mason's, just in case," Slughorn turned to Canopus, Demelza Black and Genevieve.

"Yes, professor," they muttered and left to the exit.

On the way, Abraxas grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry about how it all spilled on you,..."

But Genevieve shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "It will all go away with one spell."

Abraxas seemed to understand that she was referring to the spell scourgify, and smiled weakly before turning away to deal with the mess.

"I'm glad I didn't get into any trouble," Genevieve heard Canopus whisper and wink.

"You still don't know," Genevieve whispered back.

Just then, Slughorn's voice boomed, "Oh, and Mr. Lestrange, I must say you will be serving detention with me tonight. That goes the same for you too, Mr. Black and . And fifteen points from the Slytherin," Slughorn chuckled and his eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Yes, professor," Canopus muttered, looking slightly disappointed.

As soon as they left the class in the direction of the Infirmary, Genevieve couldn't suppress herself anymore, and started giggling.

"Shut up, Genevieve," Canopus groaned.

"I told you," Genevieve said in between giggling.

Canopus lightly punched on her shoulder, chuckling. "You know you look 'attractive', covered in those gooey stuff. And you smell like leech juice!"

Genevieve huffed, and pointed to Canopus' hand, which was covered in red spots from the pressure of suckers, "Well, you look beautiful too."

Canopus looked down at his hand, and gasped. "Merlin's poncho! I didn't notice this... Doesn't it look cool?"

"It's 'beautiful', Canopus," said Genevieve sarcastically.

"It's awesome! It's like I have a dragon pox!" Canopus looked closely at his hand.

"I bet I have those spots too," a voice sounded from her right. And Genevieve looked over Canopus to find Demelza Black. Oops. She had been completely forgetting about her. And in deed, she had red spots all over her face.

"Yeah, but it's okay. You don't really look different from your usual self," Genevieve was attempting to cheer her up, but she had made it worse.

"Are you trying to say that I always look ugly?"

"No,... of course not," Genevieve mumbled.

"What she's trying to say, is that you always look beautiful and you still do," Canopus jumped in.

"That's not true. I must look awful right now," Demelza Black sighed.

"No, I think you look adorable, as always. Guys think polka dots are cute. And look at you, pink dots on white skin? It's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

"You really think so?" Demelza Black and blushed.

"True words, my lady," Canopus smirked.

* * *

When they reached the Infirmary, Madam Mason seemed slightly surprised, but after listening intently to an explanation by Canopus, she chuckled and told them to sit down on each beds.

"How did you make that potion, Canopus?" Genevieve asked after a while. "You didn't charm it, did you?"

"No. I think it was the wrong ingredient,... or whatever I've done wrong. But it wasn't intentional! But after I added the squid's legs, it turned purple, and it started boiling. Well that's what I thought back then. When I looked at it closely, it jumped onto my hand! I thought I was gonna die! And I noticed that those boiling bubbles were actually suckers," Canopus sighed and looked at his hand, "Bloody brilliant day, isn't it?"

"Scourgify!" Genevieve heard Madam Maison exclaim, and she instantly felt the gooey jelly leave her body. Finally.

However she was surprised when she saw the purple potion mix and combine together in the air, and floated in the air for few minutes before it went out of the half-open Infirmary door.

"Did you charm that potion, Canopus?" Genevieve turned her head to look at Canopus, just as confused as Demelza Black and Madam Maison.

"No, of course not!"

"However that potion was created, Mr. Lestrange, you must catch it and destroy it. Before that thing does any harm to other students," Madam Maison chastised.

Genevieve heard Canopus swear under his breath, but receiving a glare from Madam Maison, Canopus gulped and smiled innocently.

* * *

It was at dinner time when Genevieve met Abraxas again.

"Hey," Genevieve smiled and slided into the seat.

"Hey," Abraxas smiled, "Is everything okay now? You at least seem clean now."

"No, the potion wasn't irritable or in any way harmful to us. Although," she lowered her voice, "Demelza Black was mentally wounded for having red spots all over her face."

"Is she okay?" Abraxas furrowed his brows.

"Nah, she deserves it!" Genevieve spotted Canopus and Alphard sliding into the seats across them, and they started to pile up their plates with foods.

"Abe, for merlin's fat belly sake! She cursed her few months ago! Remember?" Canopus rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"But this affects her popularity and how guys see her, right?" Genevieve asked in a worried way. Now remembering about how few guys laughed at her in a corridor.

"Her curse could have affected the matter of your life or death! Genevieve, you should be more death eater-like!"

"Lestrange," Abraxas warned Canopus, who rolled his eyes.

"Canopus, I think Abraxas is right. You shouldn't mention about our group so often," Alphard glanced worriedly between Canopus and Abraxas, who were glaring at each other now.

Canopus sighed, and shifted his eyes on to a plate in front of him. His food was untouched.

Trying to distract Abraxas from Canopus, Genevieve asked, "Was our potion okay? Many groups' potion dropped on the ground and got into mess."

"Oh, Riddle told me it was okay. I bet he casted a spell or something to protect it," Abraxas grumbled.

Canopus suddenly gasped, and all three looked up in the direction where Canopus was looking. There it was, the purple jelly potion, floating high up in the air in the Great Hall.

"Oi!" Canopus exclaimed, "Come down here! I got into detention because of you!"

The jelly potion did not come down.

Canopus swore, "I wish if I could just fly into the Great Hall with my broom to catch him."

Abraxas lazily flicked his wand, and the purple potion came flying into Canopus' plate. "Now bring it to Slughorn's for your detention," Abraxas put away his wand.

"Thanks, Abe," Canopus smiled weakly and left with Alphard to Slughorn's office for their detention. "But you know? That potion was a successful Exploding Potion, because chaos exploded in the class!" Genevieve heard Canopus explaining to Alphard, who laughed and nodded in agreement.

Abraxas and Genevieve soon left the Great Hall after finishing their dinner. Neither of them talked, and they separated their ways when Abraxas started walking in the direction of Library, mumbling something about finishing the History essay. So Genevieve headed in the direction of the common room through the dark corridors of the freezing dungeon.

She was stopped by a third year girl when she entered the common room on the way to girl's dorm. "Excuse me, miss. Are you Gene, Genevi,eve Bellamore?"

Genevieve had to restrain herself from giggling when she saw the girl having difficulty in pronouncing her name. But instead, she just nodded.

"Well, an intimidating student asked you to come the potions class. And he asked you to bring anything a wizard will need in order to brew a potion."

_'Intimidating',... it had to be Tom Riddle._ So she acknowledged her message with appreciation, and went to her dorm to get her potion kits and a textbook, and quickly left the common room.

She reached the potions classroom in no time, since it was also in the dungeon. She opened the door a crack and peeked inside the classroom. Indeed, as the third year girl said, Riddle was in there preparing a potion with his back faced at her. She entered and closed the door quietly behind her.

"You're late, Ms. Bellamore," Riddle interrupted before she even opened her mouth to notice him her presence, his back still facing her.

Genevieve scowled, "I just received your message, Riddle." She left her bag on the table near him, and went to get the ingredients from Slughorn's potion cupboard, "Where's Abraxas?"

"He said he will come later, something about his essay."

"Do you want him here?" Genevieve gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Riddle quickly spun her around, and now she was facing him. Genevieve backed a few steps away, but the cupboard wasn't that big.

"Tell me, Genevieve. Do you want your boyfriend now to save you from me?" his whispers were barely audible.

"He's not my boyfriend," Genevieve choked out, "What's wrong with you, Riddle? You are acting all weird today."

SLAP! Genevieve shrieked and touched her now red cheek where Riddle had hit her.

"You will address me as MY LORD! And there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with me," Riddle huffed.

"There is nothing wrong with me," Riddle now looked like he was whispering to himself.

"Why are you so disobedient?"

"What?" Genevieve asked, utterly confused with Riddle's sudden change of topic.

"I'm asking you, why do you always not answer my questions!" Riddle grasped bundle of hair and pulled it back forcefully so that now she had to look up at Riddle. Genevieve noticed Riddle was different than usual. In fact, she had never seen Riddle like this. The first encounter with Riddle was not as scary as now. She remembered it was more of annoyance with her disobedience, and thus threatening her by intimidating her. Then, it turned to seducing her, and encouraging, or more of pressuring her to speak up. But now, what burned in his eyes was pure loathe. She now remembered the hatred that she sensed through the Exitium Reverie bond during the Quidditch match. And now she wondered if that hatred was being cast at her.

Did Riddle hate her now?

But what about when he carried her to the Infirmary because she was feeling so sick? What about when he delivered her all the notes from the class? What about when he saved her from a bookshelf falling over her? What about his smile, the jokes and laughs they had in the Hogsmeade pub?

They were all lies? Just an infamous act of his to trick her into convincing him?

Before she noticed, a tear streamed down her face.

Riddle was surprised at first. Was Bellamore CRYING? He never thought it was so easy to make Bellamore cry. All he had to do was be straightforward and just accuse her of being disobedient to her master. Although, the sight of Bellamore in such agony was just wonderful. Tom snickered. Bellamore deserved all this pain, because he worked so hard all these months.

"Does this mean you ha-, hate me now?" Genevieve asked in a weak voice between sobs.

Tom snickered even more hearing this. "Yes. You are worth nothing. How do you feel being abandoned by me, Bellamore?"

"I thought we were going to be friends," Genevieve had stopped sobbing by now. She thought he might not hurt her or any of her friends anymore, if they became friends!

Tom blinked several times. Friends? That wasn't what he meant,... oh well.

"No, we are never going to be friends. So I am not going to care what happens to you, and I never cared," with that he flicked his wand and muttered 'crucio'.

Genevieve crumpled to the ground, and although she did not scream, she clutched her head and whimpered.

But then he was disturbed when the classroom door opened with a bang. Tom was ready to explain that he had no idea why Bellamore was in such pain. However, there were no need to explain himself.

It was Abraxas Malfoy.

Abraxas Malfoy dropped his potion kit on the floor, evidently shocked by the sight.

"M-, My Lord, I apologise for my boldness, but may I ask wh-, what you are doing?" Malfoy's voice shivered as he glanced between him and Bellamore worriedly, Tom noticed with joy.

"A servant never questions the master's actions, Malfoy. However I shall tell you. I was teaching my slave here, Ms. Bellamore a lesson by using the Cruciatus Curse," Tom replied with a snicker as Malfoy's face paled.

Genevieve saw a figure standing in the doorstep, and the curse ended temporarily so Genevieve was relieved. Although, her sights were blurred as well as her hearings, which were disturbed by tinnitus. So she couldn't recognise who that person was or what was going on.

"But My Lord, the Cruciatus Curse is illegal," Malfoy's voice was panicky. 'He must be trying to stop him from harming his girlfriend,' Tom thoughy bitterly and though he did not notice, his blood boiled with anger.

"Oh but Malfoy, I'm sure you have experienced it dozens of times in your days at Hogwarts. What makes Genevieve so special that the Cruciatus Curse is not allowed on her?" Tom said in a mocking voice.

But then his voice hardened, "Or would you like to do it yourself? Would you like to curse this cheap but arrogant whore?" Tom nudged her body with his toe, and Bellamore shivered.

A memory where she tortured her with a Cruciatus Curse came back to Abraxas like a fresh memory.  
Malfoy couldn't say a word, but just stared down at Genevieve in shame. Shame, that he, as a man, couldn't do anything to protect her. He was helpless.

"You will go on with the potion, the ingredients should be there," his master announced, now shifting his eyes onto Genevieve.

Malfoy didn't move, his knuckles turned white from clutching his wrist.

Noticing that his servant haven't moved an inch, Tom raised his gaze once again, "Would you like me to teach her the hard way? Or the easy way?" he stared at Malfoy cooly.

Abraxas started cutting his ingredients silently. His eyes swelled up with tears in shame, but he didn't dare drop any.

Now Tom turned back to Bellamore again, and as far as he could see it, she was already getting over the aftermath of the Cruciatus Curse. Her eyes were dry, and now she was trying to get up from the floor.

"Don't you think it's ironic, Genevieve?" Tom said as he grabbed her face in one hand.

"You see, when I wanted to spill the truth out of you, we got an assignment to brew a Veritaserum. It's like urging me to understand your past. Maybe I could just use you to test if our assignment worked," Tom snickered when she saw her eyes widen with fear.

_Yes, fear me, keep away from me, and don't ever think of becoming my friend. You are not worth my friendship, attention, or love!_

"Malfoy!" Tom suddenly bellowed, "Pass me the potion,"

"But My Lord, the potion isn't finished yet,..."

"I know. Pass. Me. The. Potion," Tom snickered at Genevieve again.

"Yes, My Lord."

Tom waited, but he whipped his head around when he heard Malfoy scream.

Now, the potion was bubbling out of the cauldron endlessly, and the green bubbles were already starting to spread on the floor.

"My Lord, I'll go and get Slughorn!" Malfoy ran out to the corridor.

Tom scowled in displease, now that Slughorn was coming, his interrogation time was most likely over.

And soon indeed, Slughorn came running in with Avery, Lestrange, Cygnus Black and Malfoy behind them.

"M'boy! What happened?" Slughorn looked overwhelmed, "I was with them for detention, when suddenly came in!"

"Hahahaha! Great job, Abe! Now it's two potions mess in a day!" Lestrange gave a laugh and received glares from everyone except Avery, who also laughed, Genevieve, who was still feeling sick beside Tom, and Malfoy who chuckled. Tom suddenly got a feeling that Malfoy's failure was intentional, he never really made mistakes with potions.

Slughorn quickly waved his wand, and the bubbles on the floor vanished with the remaining contents of the cauldron. Then he questioned exactly what Tom had in his mind, "But m'boy, tell me how you got into this mess. I know you are a careful boy, and you never really made mistakes."

"Well, sir. I think I've picked up the wrong ingredient. I was going to get Bulbadox Juice, but I must have picked a different jar," Malfoy blushed, looking ashamed of himself, "I'm very sorry, professor."

"Not to worry, not to worry. But I just hope no harm were done to you all. But my boy, I must say you will be serving detention with me tomorrow. And five points from the Slytherin,... again. My dear, , are you feeling all right? You look very ill,..."

Genevieve managed to say, "I'm-, I'm just sleepy, sir."

"Oh yes! It's almost the curfew, please, go to your dorm before you get into another detention!" Slughorn's booming laughter echoed.

"So, have you all each decided a lady coming to the christmas party with you?" Slughorn placed his arm around Tom's, and beamed at all the Slytherin boys, except Cygnus Black who wasn't in the Slug Club, "Since you all are handsome, talented young boys. You are 'Slytherin Princes', and you are a 'Slytherin Princess', !" Slughorn looked around him as they started walking out of the classroom.

However, Genevieve Bellamore was already half asleep in Malfoy's arms as he walked her to the common room. '_I am going to avada kedavra Malfoy later, and shoot Bellamore with a muggle gun,'_ Tom glared at them.

"You are exaggerating sir," Tom averted his eyes from the sight of Bellamore sleeping peacefully in Malfoy's arms.

"You are too humble, Tom," Slughorn chuckled, "So, who did you ask?"

"I still haven't asked, sir," Tom made his cheeks blush a little.

"My dear, Tom! You have to hurry! But, not to worry. You'll find yourself a fine lady in a minute with your dashing looks and gentleman-ness."

Tom made his cheeks blush even more. This always worked to make him look humble.

"What about you, ?" Slughorn turned to look at him.

"I asked Ms. Yaxley, professor," Lestrange grinned.

"Oh! Very fine lady! I knew there was something in between you and her. You will make a good pair with her," Slughorn chuckled, "And you, ?"

"I asked , sir," Malfoy looked down at Bellamore, sleeping in his arm. Tom couldn't help but huff at his answer, but successfully covered it with a sneeze._ I knew that girl was a whore._ Tom also heard Cygnus Black inaudibly swear under his breath.

Slughorn's eyes shimmered in curiosity, "Oho," was all he said when he spotted Bellamore sleeping soundless in his arm. "Oh, bless you, Tom. So tell me, , you are already with ?"

"Oh, no sir. We are just friends."

Slughorn just chuckled, and gave a wink to Malfoy.

"And what about you, ? Who are you asking for your date?"

"I asked Fifi, sir. Fifi Pinkstone," Avery blushed.

"That's lovely, indeed," Slughorn beamed, "I'm sorry. But I can't help feeling curious about students' romantic life. I did have glorious days like yours when I was young. Now if you will excuse me gentlemen, oh, and a lady. I will be off to bed. Good night," Slughorn yawned, and drifted to his room, opposite direction from the Slytherin common room.

"Good night, sir," they chorused together.

Tom politely smiled, "Then I'll be off to bed as well. Good night, everyone," and headed up the stairs in the direction of Head Dorm. He was glad to leave, because he was sick of Bellamore cuddling into Malfoy for warmth.

Abraxas stared at Riddle's back in hatred. But then, turned around and started escorting Genevieve back to the dorm again.

"Why is Genevieve so tired?" Alphard asked when they slowed down to wait for Abraxas.

Abraxas explained everything that happened in the Potion's Classroom.

"Oh! That son of a devil!" Canopus exclaimed.

"So is that why she is shivering and looking pale?" Alphard placed his hand on her cheek, "She's not going to die, is she? Abe, is she going to be okay!?"

"She is not going to die, calm down, Al. Look at us, after all those times of punishments and the Cruciatus Curse, are we dead? No! So she won't die so easily. And anyway, she proved herself to be tough with that curse when we first met," Canopus explained.

"Yeah, she will be all right with Calming Potion, Pain-Relieving Potion and some sleep," Abraxas mumbled. It still felt horrible about how he couldn't help her at all.

"Wait, so you ruined that potion intentionally?" Canopus asked after a while when they reached the common room.

"Of course I did. I never really mess up with potions, Canopus. I never mess up with anything," Abraxas chuckled.

"Except,..." but Abraxas was cut off by Alphard, "Quidditch!"

"Exactly," Abraxas nodded in agreement.

"And girls," Canopus muttered with a smirk.

"Exactl,... What, no. Hey!" Abraxas furrowed his brows.

Canopus and Alphard roared with laughter, "Come on, Abe. You are the only one in the Slytherin 7th year, who doesn't have a girlfriend."

"I've got myself a date," Abraxas raised his eyebrows and glanced at Genevieve.

"No. That's your friend."

They said 'good night' to Cygnus Black on the way down to their dorms, and when they reached their dorms, they changed and got ready for bed. They took Genevieve's shoes, socks, tie, sweater and her jacket off, but decided to leave the rest of her clothes on. She was still a girl, and they respected her privacy. Nobody questioned putting Genevieve in the spare bed Tom Riddle used to use, because they well knew that it was impossible for a guy to go into girls' dorm. Once a guy stepped his feet on the first step to the girls' dorm, a huge wall was built in the stairs so that nobody can pass through.

* * *

Abraxas was woken in the midnight by whimpering. He sat up on his bed, and saw Genevieve stir in her bed. So he approached her bed, and laid his hand over her hand. Instantly, Genevieve stopped whimpering, and cuddled herself closer to him. Abraxas suddenly remembered about a girl he met when he was small. His parents were very strict on his friends choice. And he could say that she, was the first person he was able to call a friend, and not 'son of my father's friend'. She was a year younger than him, and was like a younger sister to him. But she had to move to France a month or two later. The sight of Genevieve reminded of his friend. How she used to cuddle into him like a brother, when she had a nightmare at sleepover.

Genevieve was now holding onto his hand like she was going to die without it. Abraxas carefully lied down next to her, and after moving the strip of her hair off her face, he placed his arm across Genevieve's body in a protective way.

"I'll protect you," he whispered into her ear.

A/N: Thank you for reading my chapter! And sorry for the late update,... again. I hope I portrayed each characters well. And many might consider that Abraxas is now officially in love witb Genevieve. But no, he's not. He just feels really responsible about her as her friend, and he's feeling like she's his little sister. It's not love, but I think it's really sweet :) There was a request for more stories about the Slytherin trio (Canopus, Abraxas and Alphard), so this time I decided to put in a story about Canopus' failure with the Exploding Potion. But have I done too much of it? Since this story is a mystery, I first thought that I might want to finish the story quikly, focusing mainly on Genevieve's past, and Tom, so that then many questions/mystery about Genevieve will be solved. But now that I think of it, I might as well as try to put in more stories about their daily life too even though it will be difficiult for me, which means this story is going to progress really slowly. I hope hat's okay with you readers. I'm sorry if there were any grammar mistakes, English is my second language and this story was not beta-read! XP Thank you **CherryBlossoms016 **for favouriting my story!


	19. Chapter 19: Pink lipstick and Revenge

Chapter 18:Pink lipstick and Revenge

Genevieve woke up next morning in the Slytherin boys dorm. Deja vu... She had no idea how she got in here from the Potion's Classroom. She sat on her bed, and noticed Abraxas sleeping on the floor, freezing from the cold temperature in the winter dungeon. The other two, Canopus and Alphard were already awake.

Alphard was the first to notice that she was awake, "Oh hey, Genevieve!" and grinned. "So how are you feeling?" he furrowed his brows in concern.

Suddenly, Genevieve remembered what happened last night. Riddle sent her a Cruciatus Curse! And all that 'being-a-kind-gentleman' was acting. She couldn't help but feel so,... stupid. She didn't trust Riddle whole-heartedly, of course, but she had to admit, she was starting to believe his lies. Until yesterday. Now Riddle knew she could change her looks, and they also made a bloody promise to visit the Knockturn Alley next week! She had to go to the most dangerous and creepy place she ever knew in her life, and out of all the people, with Riddle. Most dangerous person she ever knew in her life when it came to Dark Arts.

"Are you really okay, Genevieve?" Canopus looked serious, which looked so unnatural on him.

"Yup," she smiled even though she still felt a small stab stab of pain occasionally.

"You do remember about yesterday, right?" Alphard rested his hand on her shoulder.

"What happened after Slughorn came in with you guys and settled everything?"

"Abe got a detention, and 5 points from Slytherin. And after that Abe dragged you here, you were literally asleep in his arm, and made you drink a few potions before you went to sleep, or rather, fainted," Canopus shrugged.

"And, why is Abraxas sleeping on the floor?"

"Oh, he fell off your bed, and he rolled until he ended up here," Canopus looked down at Abraxas.

"My BED?" Genevieve's mouth fell open.

"Calm down, woman! When I woke up in the midnight, Abraxas was sleeping next to you with his arm around your body, and you were cuddling into his arms. You sometime whimpered, so I guess you were having a nightmare," Canopus explained.

She owed Abraxas,... again. She placed a blanket over him, and waved her wand to cast a Warming Charm.

Genevieve suspected she would be late to the class if she didn't go back to her dorm now. So she picked up the rest of her clothing, and headed to the door.

"We are really mad at him, you know," Genevieve turned around in order to see Canopus who just spoke, "We'll someday and somehow punch that devil in the face," he snickered and glanced at Alphard, who also smirked evilly.

Genevieve mumbled, "I'll punch him myself," and left the room.

She was a little late when she got to the Great Hall, and Canopus, Alphard were almost finished with their breakfast. However, Abraxas was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Abraxas?" Genevieve asked as she took a piece of toast and a rhubarb jam.

"Still asleep," Alphard answered, "Don't worry, he won't come late to the class. Although this is the first time he slept this late."

Genevieve took a few rolls of bread for Abraxas. He may not be able to make it to the breakfast.

"I saw Dorea Black scolding at Caspar Crouch yesterday," Canopus mumbled in conversational way, "She's one scary, lunatic captain, that one. Poor Crouch, he might get replaced by someone else very soon. He has the strongest arm in the entire school, but he needs a little bit more brain to play Quidditch."

Alphard shrugged, and nodded.

Genevieve's eyes absent-mindedly searched the Slytherin table. There he was. Few tables away from her, sitting quietly with a cup of coffee in his hand, and the Daily Prophet in another. Medley Carrow, 6th year Slytherin was snuggling up against his arm, and Riddle didn't seem to mind her. But all the same, he didn't look up to see her. It seemed like he was just ignoring her.

Genevieve brought her eyes back to her toast. It seemed that he had finally lost his interest in her past, and stopped putting his nose into someone's business. Genevieve sighed in relief. Peace, finally. Now she doesn't have to worry about a certain evil master hexing her, or sniffing around her secrets. She came to wonder if life would have been easier if she didn't join the Knight of Walpurgis that night. She certainly wouldn't have known Tom Riddle, or place herself under Riddle's command. But yet again, she wouldn't have met Abraxas, Alphard and Canopus either.

Just then, Abraxas came running into the Great Hall.

"Whew! I'm glad I made it!" Abraxas reached for a jug of orange juice after he sat down next to Canopus.

"But Abe, we are leaving in like, two or three minutes!" Alphard gave a worried look as he quickly poured some orange juice into Abraxas' goblet.

Genevieve quickly handed him the rolls of bread she had been saving for him.

Canopus smirked, "I know the quickest way to eat, Abe. Just push all the breads into tour mouth. All three of them. Don't look at me like that. It will all get into your mouth if you try. Then jug the orange juice down. And now, just try to swallow them before we get to the class."

Abraxas' mouth was now full with bread and orange juice, that he looked like a squirrel, or a hamster. He tried his best to chew, but Genevieve can tell it was very difficult.

"Come on, let's go," Canopus stood up and took his bag, and helped Abraxas get up. "I have been doing that almost half of my life. Skill like that, comes in handy when you are late to class almost everyday," Canopus grinned as he bragged to Abraxas. Abraxas just rolled his eyes.

When they reached the Alchemy Clasaroom, Abraxas was still trying his best to swallow the bread.

"Come on, go Abe! Professor Kelton's may come in any moment!" Canopus continued to cheer him up.

It was just when the professor came in when Abraxas finished with his breakfast. Abraxas coughed violently and bent over, and Canopus helped him by slapping his back.

Canopus cheered, "Huzaah! Abraxas finished his breakfast!"

Professor Kelton seemed utterly confused, " ,... and, ? Is everything under control?"

"Yes, sir. It's nothing, sir," Abraxas stammered as his face turned deep red.

"Then you should sit down, ," Professor Kelton warned as he saw Canopus still standing with a wide grin.

Canopus sat down next to Abraxas quietly, and the double Alchemy class finally started.

"Hey, do you wanna go and see Charlus Potter sunk in misery?" Canopus asked Genevieve after the double Transfiguration, when they were all heading for lunch.

"Umm, I don't know. Potter has never been mean to me," Genevieve just shrugged her shoulders.

"WHAT!? And you call yourself a Slytherin, woman?" Canopus rolled his eyes. "Look. That bloody beau sabreur Potter, has been my archenemy since freshman year! You know what he said to me? You know what he said to me in the train? When I was innocently, believe me, I was still innocent back in those days, when I was gazing out of the window, excited about my new life at Hogwarts. He just came into my compartment with his friend or whatever, and said, 'Ooh, hey, look. It's Lestrange. The son of a German.' And of course I said there's nothing wrong with being a German, and then he said, 'I'm gonna crack your skull when I become a beater, you douchebag.' It scared the merlin out of me!"

"So that's why you hate him?" They have now already arrived at the Great Hall, and sat down on one of the long chairs.

"Nein. That's not it. Last year's Quidditch, he bewitched my broom, so I couldn't score even once. We couldn't win the house cup! Now that one, that one really made me mad. But you know what? I'm more popular than him, and I'm more skilled in Quidditch. So ha!" Canopus stuck his tongue out in the direction of the Gryffindor table.

"That's awesome! Are you better than him with the school grades?" Abraxas asked, smiling.

"Nope," Canopus grinned, and Abraxas' face sunk in disappointment who must have expected an answer 'yes'.

"But I don't really care. Potter's not that smart anyway, so," Canopus grinned again.

"So, are you guys in or what?" Canopus' eyes twinkled in excitement.

"What's the plan?" Alphard asked him, and Canopus' wicked grin grew even more. Genevieve smirked as well. She was starting to hate this Potter.

"Do you have a lipstick you don't need?" Canopus asked out of a sudden.

Confused, Genevieve shook her head in 'no'. Unfortunately, she had just finished using it few weeks ago, and now was waiting for the Hogsmeade trip to buy a new one.

"Maybe Fifi has it?" Alphard suggested, and went up to Fifi Pinkstone to ask. Luckily, she took out her cosmetics bag, and handed him a lipstick.

When Alphard came back, he gave Canopus the lipstick. It was a very girlish colour, a bright vivid pink.

"Now, I'm going to put this lipstick over his lips," Canopus' eyes twinkled.

"Whoa, whoa. You do know that I have to stop your ingenious plan, right?" Abraxas cut in.

Canopus blinked a several times, "Why?"

"Because I'm a prefect."

"Oh," Canopus groaned, "Wait, what? Come on, Abe! You are my best friend! I first thought of doing this to you, but I changed my mind cause I thought you wouldn't like it!"

"Of course I wouldn't like it!" Abraxas hissed, "And if you are really going to prank Potter, I will have to take off five points."

"But, Abe! You are my best friend!"

"I'm going back to the common room," Abraxas stood up and flung his satchel over his shoulder.

"But Canopus, try using the spell Permanens Tenaces," he smirked and left their table.

Genevieve smirked as well. That spell was the Extra Gluing Charm. It was impossible to take off whatever that has been charmed with this spell, unless using a special anti-gluing potion.

Canopus shrugged, "I don't know that spell. Oh well, thanks Abe!"

Canopus explained his plan to Alphard and Genevieve.

"Now, let's move," Canopus winked.

So Alphard took the lipstick from Canopus' hands and walked towards the Gryffindor table. Canopus and Genevieve followed after him, and decided to hide behind the shadows of other Gryffindors still eating.

Charlus Potter was sitting with his friends, Septimus Weasley and Harfang Longbottom. From their excited looks, Genevieve guessed they were talking about Quidditch.

Alphard approached Potter, and just stood there until the Gryffindor noticed. Potter turned around, and she could see his trademark, brown messy hair and a sly grin on his face. Potter seemed confused, since all Alphard did was just stare down at him.

"What do you want, Avery? I don't see your douchebag friend, Lestrange," Potter snickered.

Alphard didn't say anything, but just quickly took out his lipstick in a speed which only a Seeker can manage, and covered Potter's lips with the pink lipstick.

Potter screamed, "What the bloody hell are you doing? You son of a snake!"

That moment, Canopus stood up, and shouted "Permanens Tenaces!" as he pointed his wand at Potter's lips.

Potter's pink lips glowed for a second, and Potter screamed, "What did you do to my lips!?"

Canopus shrugged, "Ask Abraxas."

Now the entire Great Hall was filled with laughter of students, and Potter's face turned bright as his lips. Frustrated, he took a napkin from the table, and tried to wipe the lipstick off. But obviously, he couldn't take off because of the charm.

Genevieve giggled slightly with the sight of Potter striving to brush his lipstick away.

"Come on, Genevieve! Put another spell on his lips!" Canopus was laughing so hard now as he clutched his side.

So Genevieve waved her wand. Now, Canopus' lips started to glitter and reflect lights in different colours like a disco ball.

Genevieve giggled again.

"Hahahaha! Genevieve, that's the best!" Canopus roared in laughter again.

"Hey, Potter!" Canopus shot out, "Enjoying the laugh, are we? Too bad you guys lost the last Quidditch match. But if you try hard enough, you guys will probably get to be in the second or the third for this year's match. But we, Slytherins, will be victorious! And win the Quidditch Cup! Mwahahahahaha!"

Potter growled, "Lestrange! You douchebag, I'll get this back on you!" and started chasing them.

So they all ran out of the Great Hall, still laughing. As they closed the door behind them, they could still hear people laughing, and Genevieve was sure she heard someone say, "You look like a disco ball, Po'er!"

"That,.. that charm Abe taught me, it was a gluing charm wasn't it?" Canopus managed to say in between his laughs.

"Yup. But not just any gluing-charm," Genevieve's explained and her eyes widened in excitement, "It's permanent."

"Wicked," Alphard's eyes widened as well.

"Permanent, until you use an antidote for it. But one of the ingredients has to be imported from Bangladesh, so it takes a long time to brew it."

Canopus shrugged, "Longer the better."

"You know, that charm is wicked too. But the person who taught that to us,... Abraxas is quite wicked too," Alphard commented as they all left for their next class.

For the rest of their day, they heard various rumours about Charlus Potter. Such as he went to tell Professor Dumbledore about them, or that he is planning a revenge against Canopus. However, it was very lucky for them since they didn't receive any detention. All they got was 15 points taken away from their house and a cold stare from Nearly Headless Nick.

Finishing her homework early than expected, Genevieve came upon a decision that she should help or at least pay a visit to Abraxas, who was having a detention in the Potions Classroom.

"Abraxas?" Genevieve poked her head inside the Potions Classroom.

Abraxas peeked out through the door of Ingredients Cupboard, "Genevieve? What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I should come and help," Genevieve grinned.

"Oh, thanks. Well, I just need to put these ingredients back onto the shelf, and I'm done," Abraxas pointed to several jars on a table filled with potion ingredients.

"So, how did it go with the prank? I saw his glittering pink lips today," Abraxas chuckled as he took a jar of bat spleens.

"Oh, it was great. Potter was really mad at us, and Canopus was satisfied as well as Alphard," Genevieve explained as she carried a jar of fluxweed, "Alpahrd also commented you are quite wicked."

Abraxas chuckled, "Wicked, huh? Well, I am a Slytherin for a reason. So I guess I can be wicked for some times."

They remained silent for a while until Genevieve opened her mouth again.

"I'm sorry."

Abraxas turned around and observed her for a moment. "For what?" he furrowed his brows.

"For dragging you into this mess," Genevieve waved her hands at the ingredients and the cupboard.

A look of understanding dawned his face, "Genevieve,this is not a mess at all. It's easy and I can probably finish this within thirty minutes. It wasn't your fault in the first place, anyway."

"Then, I guess I can say thank you instead. Thank you for everything last night."

Abraxas shook his head, "You are making me blush, Genevieve..."

"But I must confess, I do feel I'm the one to say sorry," Abraxas looked down at his hands and started fidgeting with his fingers, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Genevieve stared at him, confused.

"I mean, I couldn't stand up to him last night. I couldn't shout him to stop or that you are not a cheap whore at all... All I could do was just intentionally make an accident that will distract him. I felt so,... terribly helpless," Abraxas ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Someday, Genevieve," Abraxas looked right into her eyes, and his face was suddenly very serious, "Someday we are going to prove him that you are not cheap, and you are so much more than a whore."

Genevieve couldn't say a word, so she just nodded. Abraxas went back to his work, and so did Genevieve.

"Abraxas?" Genevieve opened her mouth again.

"Hm?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" Genevieve asked, "I mean, I appreciate it very much, but I feel like I owe you a lot. Why are you always helping me?"

Abraxas considered her question for a minute before answering, "Two reasons," he showed two fingers at her.

"One, because you are my friend and you are important to me," Abraxas explained, "Two, I have always been feeling like I owe you since you helped me that night when you pushed me on the floor, so that I won't get hit by the curse. If you haven't pushed me, you wouldn't have turned into that mysterious shiny form. And Riddle wouldn't have been interested to uncover your past, if you know what I mean. Which means he wouldn't have hurt you. Plus, I used a Cruciatus Curse on you the very first night,"

Genevieve nodded. Abraxas must have been feeling guilty the whole time. "But, I don't regret saving you from that curse," Genevieve smiled, "Because that's how we became friends, right?"

Abraxas smiled and nodded, placing the last jar of snake fangs into the cupboard, "Now. That's all it! Come on, let's go back to the dorm. I really need a nice warm stove right now."

* * *

Abraxas was woken by the burning pain in his arm. He sat up on his bed, very confused. However, he saw Canopus on his elbows.

"Hey, Canopus? Are you awake?" Abraxas asked in a whisper.

"What do you think? I was having a great dream about Christina, and this blubbering dark mark woke me up!" Canopus swore.

Then Alphard stirred in his bed, "Aaabe,... my arm feels,... scratchy."

But soon Alphard jumped up on his bed, "Ah! Hot! My arm's burning! My arm's on, firrreeee!"

"Wake up, you bloody sleepyhead!" Canopus got onto his feet, and shook Alphard.

"What,... so, my arm's not on fire?" Alphard mumbled.

"Your arm's not on fire," Abraxas explained patiently.

"Oh."

"Come on, let's change," he got up from the bed as well with a sigh, "Our master is calling for us.

They changed quickly, since the burning sensation was getting serious and more painful by the minute. Abraxas checked his left arm, and he noticed that the dark mark was swelling and turning red.

They quietly walked through the corridors in the direction of the Room of Requirements. The corridor was very deserted, and Abraxas noticed it was well past 1:00 am in the morning as he checked his watch.

"Wonder what Tom wants with us in the middle of the night? Why is he awake anyway at this time?" Canopus whispered.

"What I want to know, is what Tom wants with us. He hadn't called for the meeting for months," Abraxas heard Alphard behind him, and Abraxas nodded in agreement.

Whatever the reason was, Abraxas really didn't want to go. It made him feel sick just seeing his face, because of what he did to Genevieve yesterday. He also felt pathetic about himself for serving him, and just following orders like a good dog.

His impression on Riddle has changed a lot past these Hogwarts years. Before he became one of the first Knights of Walpurgis with Canopus and Alphard, he knew who Riddle was.

Or, that's what he thought he knew. Riddle was just a perfect student. Popular, kind, charismatic, talented, and even for a male, Abraxas thought Riddle was beautiful. He felt so great when Riddle himself has asked him to join his group. He was worth Riddle's ranks, and he even had an honour of Riddle personally asking him to join his ranks called the Knights of the Walpurgis, or the Death Eaters.

But he soon came to realise that Riddle was a cruel, sadistic man he never should have approached. He tortured them occasionally, and he somehow knew, he somewhere knew the whole time that it was Riddle who killed the Ravenclaw girl called Myrtle back in their fifth grade. For the rest of the years he had been very scared of Tom Riddle.

Until he met Genevieve. She showed him how it was okay to feel AGAINST Riddle. Riddle could control and limit their actions, but he could never control their thoughts and feelings. And plus, it really made him upset how Riddle treated Genevieve, a girl, not guys like them. Riddle should have treated her more kindly.

When Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard reached the Room of Requirements, Abraxas knocked the door and the three entered.

Riddle was already there, sitting on a chair in the center. He was tapping the chair's arm with his fingers impatiently.

"You are very late," Riddle said cooly.

"I apologise, My Lord," Abraxas bowed down before him, Canopus and Alphard following his action.

Abraxas noticed Genevieve was nowhere to be seen.

Riddle must have noticed his question, "There are no need to worry, Malfoy. I haven't summoned her tonight."

"My Lord?" Alphard spoke up next to him.

"It's because what I want you all to do is something about Bellamore. I want you all to spy on your lovely friend," Riddle snickered.

"But,..." Alphard muttered.

"Be quiet," Riddle waved his wand, and Canopus' arm flew up into the air, and punched Alphard in the face.

Alphard groaned, clutching his nose which was bleeding. Canopus gasped, and he started running towards Alphard. But Riddle waved his wand again, and Canopus was flown back onto the ground.

"How rude, to move without my permission, Lestrange," Riddle sneered again.

"Please, My Lord. I beg you to forgive them," Abraxas pleaded.

"Hm. Fine then," Riddle narrowed his eyes at Canopus and Alphard, "I would like you to collect every information about her in any way you could think of. And by the next time I summon you, you will be prepared to share your information. Understood?"

Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard all stayed silent.

"UNDERSTOOD?" Riddle asked again, calm but yet in a deadly way.

"Yes, My Lord," they all mumbled.

"You are dismissed."

They all stood up and after a bow, silently left the Room of Requirements.

A/N: Hello, and thanks for reading my chapter again! And sorry for the late update, and extremely short chapter :P This chapter was mainly about Genevieve, Canopus, Abraxas and Alphard's daily life, and I hope you enjoyed it! Just in case, 'beau sabreur' (the word Canopus used to describe Charlus Potter) means somebody who is an adventurer. But in this case, he is described as a one who only cares about adventures. And also, 'Nein' means 'no' in German. It seems like Charlus Potter is a racist, but I have no intention to say being German is bad. It's just what Charlus thinks. And thank you, **Forbidden Moons** for reviewing to every chapter of my story! It made me so happy! I'll try to update the next chapter in a week! ;)


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